It's been sixty-seven days since Mrs. Norris was petrified, and Percy Weasley is no closer to catching the monster. The days weigh on Percy's shoulders. The moment Mrs. Norris had been petrified, Percy had resolved to put a stop to whatever might be going on.
For one, he's a prefect and keeping the halls of Hogwarts safe is his duty. If he fails, he fails the school, the students, and himself. For another, Ginny had been nothing short of inconsolable.
The twins would never believe it in a million years, but Percy does care about his family. He just… shows it in a different way than other people might.
Admittedly, Percy hadn't taken it as seriously as he should have at first, allowing for things like school and friends to take priority. Then, Colin Creevey had been attacked and Percy realized just how easily the monster could have gone for Ginny (or Ron or the twins) instead.
Sure, the Weasleys are technically pure-blooded, but what if Slytherin's monster doesn't discriminate between muggle-borns and blood-traitors? It is absolutely not a risk Percy is willing to take.
All this leads to mornings escorting scared younger students to their classes, afternoons spent in the Library researching, and nights spent patrolling the halls.
Percy has resorted to doing homework during mealtimes. Penelope is mostly indifferent towards Percy's new routine, but Percy really is going to have to do something about Oliver at some point. He's just been getting more and more worried.
"Please, Percy! Can't you just drop it?" Oliver pleads during lunch, grabbing one of Percy's hands in his own.
It's the first day back from Christmas break, and apparently Oliver has had enough.
"I know you're single-minded, I get it. I do! I'm the same way. But we haven't talked, really talked in a month."
Percy looks up from his essay and into his friend's shiny brown eyes- those eyes that are always alight with one thing or another, passion or excitement or happiness. They're particularly shiny today, and Percy idly wonders if Oliver is about to cry.
Percy blinks, realizing he's been staring. He jerks his hand away and looks down, stamping down on the guilt that's curling in his stomach.
"I can't drop it, Oliver. I have to figure this out."
"You don't! Let the professors take care of it, that's their job. It's your job," here Oliver jabs a finger at Percy's chest, "to be a kid. Come on, let's… let's go on a walk. I'll even listen to your fifty-two step plan to become Minister of Magic!"
"Would you really?" Percy asks, momentarily distracted.
Oliver grimaces, then his expression goes determined. "Yeah," he says resolutely, "I really would."
Percy looks back down to his book, smiling softly.
"Thanks," he says. Then he thinks of how terrified Ginny has been lately and winces. "But I really can't. I'm sorry, I have to keep my family safe."
And be the best prefect Hogwarts has ever seen, and also possibly slay Slytherin's monster.
Oliver sighs, sitting back. "Alright," he says. "I guess I can't argue with that."
Percy thinks that might be the last of it… up until Oliver is there waiting for him at the portrait hole as Percy goes to start his nightly patrols.
"Oliver?" Percy asks, confused.
Oliver grins. Percy would like to say he's immune to Oliver's grins after practically living with him for six years, but he really isn't. Percy goes a little light-headed, then bites the inside of his cheek to ground himself.
(Some nights Percy can't sleep because he's too busy marveling over the fact that the Oliver Wood seems to genuinely enjoy and seek out Percy's company. Oliver has a million friends, and Percy really only has Penelope and his ambitions.
Nevertheless, from day one Oliver has made it a point to spend time with Percy. One night during dinner in fourth year Oliver had casually referred to Percy as his best friend for the first time and Percy had nearly choked to death on an asparagus.)
"I'm coming with you, remember?"
Percy stares at Oliver. "What," he says flatly.
"Oh," Oliver says, brow furrowing. "I actually, uh, might not have made that clear. I'm helping you catch the monster."
"You are absolutely not doing that." Percy says with finality.
Ten minutes later and Percy is walking resignedly next to a bouncy Oliver. Oliver keeps accidentally walking faster than Percy, then doubling back.
"So," Oliver whispers as he jogs back to Percy. "Give me the facts. We won't be able to work together if we aren't on the same page, you know."
Percy sighs heavily. "I don't have much. From what I've been able to gather, the Chamber has been opened before. When and what happened, I'm not sure. I think it was bad, though."
Oliver nods thoughtfully. "So the Chamber is real, then?"
"That's the general consensus. There still isn't any hard proof, though. It's possible the whole thing is just a really twisted prank."
Oliver turns to Percy, eyebrow raised. His golden eyebrow piercing glints distractingly and Percy has to tear his eyes away from it.
"Let me stop you right there," Oliver says. "You don't think it's Harry, do you?"
Percy grimaces. "I personally do not think it's Harry. That said, I can't rule out anyone, and Harry does… well, he is the known heir and has discovered two of the three attacks."
"Okay? And?" Oliver asks.
"Look, I don't want to believe it's him, but I can't let my emotions cloud my judgment," Percy says tiredly.
Oliver kicks at the ground as they walk in silence for a moment, then looks up. "You don't think Dumbledore hasn't already thought of all this? If Harry really is that suspicious-"
"Which he is," Percy cuts in.
"Right. As I was saying, don't you think he'd be at least suspended by now? Just to see if the attacks stop?"
Percy narrows his eyes, thinking. That would be smart, if a bit ruthless… Dumbledore might be letting his emotions cloud his judgment?
Percy's line of thinking trails off. That doesn't sound at all like the Dumbledore he's heard stories about.
"Just something to think about I guess," Oliver shrugs. "Any idea what the monster is?"
"No," Percy grumbles. "I know frustratingly little. Right now I'm just trying to get more information on the last time the Chamber opened."
"How do you know it opened last time?"
"I heard Professor McGonagall talking about it with Professor Sprout- I didn't hear much, just enough to confirm that it had been opened before and it was bad."
"And you've been looking for information on it ever since, right? Without any luck?"
Percy nods, unsure of where Oliver is going with this.
"Sounds like they covered it up, then." Oliver muses.
"Yeah," Percy says, then his eyes widen. "... so the only way for Professor McGonagall to know about it is if she was there!"
"Hey! Yeah!" Oliver says excitedly, brown eyes lighting up.
"How long has she been a teacher?" Percy asks. "Oh, wait. I guess you probably don't know that off the top of your head."
"Just hit 36 years," Oliver says absently. Percy stares at him, and he shrugs. "We meet for tea sometimes."
"... alright," Percy says, then continues, "so: our timeline is the last 36 years."
"Plus when she was a student," Oliver reminds him.
"... don't suppose you know how old she is?" Percy asks after a moment.
"No," Oliver says through a poorly-concealed yawn. "Sorry."
"That's alright. Let's call it a night," Percy says, checking the time.
It's harder to find out Professor McGonagall's age than Percy had thought it would be, but after a couple hours in the Library and a few subtle questions posed to Professor Sprout, Percy figures it out: Professor McGonagall is sixty-two, so she'd have started Hogwarts in 1941. This leaves Percy with a pretty solid timeline. It's a lot, but much less long than the entirety of Hogwarts history.
Wait.
"Oliver!" Percy calls, waving frantically to get his attention.
Oliver is flying, because of course he is, but he sees Percy and dives down to meet Percy on the edge of the pitch.
"Percy! Is everything alright?" Oliver says as he skids to a stop, unmounting his broom in one fluid motion.
Percy is doubled over, trying to catch his breath. He'd run all the way to the pitch from the Library.
"I'm so… out… of shape…" Percy gasps.
Oliver pats his back gently. "Take your time," he says.
It should be patronizing but Oliver doesn't seem to be capable of sounding anything less than one-hundred percent genuine.
Percy finally recovers to the point where he can form full sentences, and says, "we should talk to the ghosts. They'd know, right?"
Oliver's eyes widen and he actually jumps up and down a little in excitement. "Percy! You're a genius!"
Percy feels himself go bright red and Oliver bursts into delighted laughter, which doesn't help anything.
"You need to learn to take a compliment, Perce," Oliver says, calming down after a moment.
"Uh, right," Percy mutters, then immediately changes the subject. "Anyways, I thought we could start with Sir Nick and then go from there? Or, should we split up?"
Percy is excited now. He doesn't know why he didn't think about the ghosts as a source before- although most everyone just takes them for granted.
"Let's go together," Oliver says without hesitating. "Splitting up never ends well. Plus," Oliver adds with a wink, "we're a team."
"Cool! Yes, sounds good!" Percy says, trying not to sound flustered. He can feel his ears burning. "Well, no time like the present!"
Oliver laughs, swinging his broom over his broad shoulder. "Sure," he agrees.
Despite their best efforts, they can't find Sir Nick. Or, for that matter, any ghost at all.
"Are they usually this hard to find?" Oliver asks, scratching the back of his head.
"No idea," Percy says. "I guess it never really occurred to me that ghosts might have a life outside of haunting students- stop, you know what I mean."
"You said 'life' and they're dead," Oliver gasps through his laughter.
Percy rolls his eyes. "It wasn't that funny. Any idea what to do next?"
"Binns is always in his classroom, right?" Oliver asks, sobering up. "We could ask him."
"He's got a class right now. I already checked."
"Oh. Uh, we could try that one ghost that never leaves the bathroom," Oliver suggests.
"Hmm." Percy hums noncommittally. He really doesn't want to deal with Myrtle right now, but… "yeah, she's probably our best bet."
"To the bathroom!" Oliver cries, firmly grabbing Percy's hand in his and breaking into a sprint.
"Oliver- I can't- please don't make me run again-" Percy gasps out, trying in vain to tug his hand free.
They don't stop running until they get to the out-of-order bathroom. Percy doubles over again, panting.
"Five… Points… from Gryffindor…" Percy says as he tries to get enough oxygen to his lungs.
Oliver gasps in indignation. "You'd take points from me? Your best friend? And for what?"
"Running in the halls," Percy says, breathing easier now. "Also, I like Penelope better. She doesn't make me run."
"Clearwater," Oliver growls, raising his fist and shaking it at the sky. Then, he looks at Percy and with a serious look on his face, says, "one day I will surpass her. Just you wait."
Percy shakes his head and rolls his eyes, going up to the door and knocking. "Anyone in here?" He calls.
No answer. He looks at Oliver, who shrugs. Percy pushes the door open. "Hello?"
"This is the girl's bathroom, you know," a sniffly voice says.
Percy sighs wearily. That's not even true- it's more of an arbitrary label then anything else.
"Just thought you ought to know," Myrtle adds, floating primly through a stall door. She, as per usual, looks like she's been crying. "What do you want?"
"We wanted to talk to you," Oliver steps in helpfully. Myrtle's face lights up, then goes suspicious.
"Do you really? Or do you just want to make fun of me," she asks, eyes narrowed.
Oliver gives her a disarming smile. "We would never," he assures.
Myrtle softens, and she sits down. Well, she's floating. But she goes into a sitting position above the ground.
"Oh, alright," she says. Then she flutters her eyelashes "I suppose I wouldn't mind if you asked the questions." Oliver chuckles, a tad uncomfortably.
Percy rolls his eyes again. At this rate, they're going to get stuck looking towards the back of his skull.
"Go on then," Myrtle says. "Ask away."
"Well," Oliver says with an encouraging nod from Percy. "We, uh, wanted to know if you were there when the Chamber of Secrets last opened?"
Myrtle stares at them for a second, expression of disbelief on her face. "Was I… was I there? You wanted to know if I was there. Me?"
"Yes?" Oliver says, eyes darting between Myrtle and Percy. Percy is just as baffled as he is.
"Yes," Myrtle says slowly. "I was there."
Percy's heart leaps.
"Would you tell us about it?" Oliver asks, trying and failing to sound casual.
"It was exactly fifty years ago," Myrtle says, eyes suddenly alight with excitement. "And a student died."
"That's… gruesome," Oliver says. He sounds uncertain.
Percy mostly can't believe their luck. The first ghost they ask, and she seems to know all about the last time the Chamber opened.
"Ooh, yes, dreadfully!" Myrtle agrees, grinning. "Very dramatic. A real tragedy, shook Hogwarts down to its very foundations."
"How did they die?" Percy asks, unable to help himself.
Myrtle narrows her eyes at him, but eventually stands up and floats over to the stall she'd been crying in when they'd first come in.
"I was sitting right in here when it happened," she says smugly, pointing down at the stall.
Percy and Oliver exchange a wide-eyed look. Myrtle had been the student? This is huge!
"I was crying," Myrtle continues.
"Shocker," Percy grumbles. Oliver elbows him. Fortunately the ghostly girl doesn't seem to have heard him.
"Olive Hornby was being a horrible bully, you see. She'd insulted my glasses, my face, and my family- in that order. I haunted her until the day she died," Myrtle says, satisfied. "That's why I decided not to move on, you know. Vengeance."
"Very, uh, reasonable," Oliver says, looking a little queasy. "Then what happened?"
"Oh, after she passed on I came back to Hogwarts to live in the bathroom I'd died in," Myrtle says simply.
"No, sorry, I meant what happened after you were crying in the stall?"
"Oh! Well, I heard the door open, and someone came in. Then I heard a funny sort of sound, like a made-up language or code of some kind, and realized it was a boy speaking. Of course, as this is the girl's bathroom," Myrtle says looking pointedly at the two, "I opened the door to tell him to GO AWAY!"
Percy and Oliver both jump a little as she shrieks those last two words, then Oliver says, "and then what?"
Myrtle cocks her head. "I died," she says.
Percy goes to roll his eyes again, but catches himself just in time.
Oliver flounders for a moment, saying, "oh, uh, I mean, how?"
Myrtle starts sniffling. "I don't know," she says pitifully. "I would have said if I had known."
"Right! Of course you would have," Oliver says hurriedly, trying to stave off the inevitable breakdown. "But, uh, do you possibly remember anything at all? Maybe the light of a spell, or being hit by a potion?"
Myrtle hiccups a little, and shakes her head. "No, no." Then, she goes perfectly still, brow furrowed in thought. "I do… I remember a great big yellow circle…" she trails off, seemingly lost in thought.
"Er, alright then," Oliver says, backing away towards the door. "Thank you for answering our questions."
Percy and Oliver walk slowly back to the Gryffindor Tower.
"So," Percy says, then stops, unsure of what to say.
"Yeah," Oliver agrees. "What do we do now?"
Percy looks at him disbelievingly. "We research. Obviously."
Oliver sighs and kicks at the ground dejectedly. "Obviously," he repeats glumly.