Chapter 22: I'm sorry
The Christmas break had come to an end and classes had started again, as well as Quidditch. Harry and Ron hadn't been doing much with Hermione and none of them had talked to Kiba since he had returned to the common room. He would be asleep by the time Harry and Ron got to the dorm and would already be wandering the Halls in the morning.
The rare times he talked, it wasn't with them. He would talk to other Gryffindors, mostly Fay and Parvati, or make conversation with second-years from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff.
Harry and Ron walked along the Halls after studying in the great Hall during lunchtime and reached the second floor where the stone floor was covered with a layer of water, they entered the corridor and saw more water flowing from one door in particular. "yuck!" exclaimed room as the water seeped into his shoes
"Looks like Myrtle is flooding the bathroom," Harry said leading the way to the door, he pushed it open and saw all the taps pouring water into the already overflowing sinks and went to turn them off.
"Come to throw something else at me?" asked the ghost sobbing as she sat in the high window between the rows of cubicles.
"Why would i throw something at you?" Harry asked confused by the question
"I don't know," replied the girl as she floated closer to the ground "here i am minding my own business, and someone thinks it's funny to throw a book at me" she said looking to the ground where a wet book lay.
"But it can't hurt if someone throws something at you," said Ron, Harry quickly tugged at his sleeve to stop him but Ron didn't get the message, rather he looked to Harry for approval as he finished his sentence "i mean, it'll go right through you"
"oh sure!" Myrtle yelled diving forwards and stopping just an inch in front if the redhead "Let's all throw books at Myrtle because she can't fall it!" she punched Ron's chest which send her arm through him "Ten points if you get it through her stomach! Fifty if it goes through her head!" she did the same to Ron's head sending a cold shiver through the boys entire body.
"Who threw the book at you anyway?" Harry asked as he picked up the book.
"I don't know, i didn't see them.. i was just sitting there, thinking about death, when it fell through the top of my head" she explained before breaking out into a loud wail.
Harry felt something from the book but couldn't really explain it, or point it out, if he tried. He turned the book around to further examine the worn out black leather covering and spotted a name written in Golden letters. "Tom Marvolo Riddle…" he muttered.
"I remember that name from somewhere… i think Hermione mentioned it" Ron said. The two made their way into the common room and saw Hermione sitting on the couch and headed over to her quickly.
"Hermione!" the two of them yelled out as they made their way to her.
"what is it?" she asked slightly irritated by their interruption
"Does the name 'Tom Marvolo Riddle' ring any bells?" Ron asked as Harry held out the book.
"I do-" Hermione stopped when she saw the book Harry was holding. She recognized it immediately, not just by The look but also by the feeling it gave her. The pain that pierced her chest and the shiver it send down her spine. She hesitated for a second but then reluctantly grabbed the book. "I don't think so.. mayb-"
"I remember now!" Ron suddenly burst out "i remember where i read the name before, it was during our detention. I remember because i kept burping slugs on Tom Riddle's trophy"
"Trophy? What for?" Harry asked
"He got it about fifty years ago for special services to the school" Ron replied shrugging his shoulder not understanding why it was important.
"it makes sense..." Hermione whispered 'Malfoy said that the chamber had been opened fifty years ago, and Kiba said this is his father's diary… that means there's a fifty percent chance that his father was the heir of Slytherin as well.. or is!'
"Hermione?" Harry asked once again
"don't you see, Remember what Malfoy said? The last time the chamber was opened was fifty years ago, what if Tom found the culprit behind the attacks fifty years ago and was awarded the trophy?" she explained "maybe he even knew where it was, maybe he wrote someth-"
…
"It's empty.." she said silently. 'but i saw him write into this… and if Tom Riddle killed a Muggle-born fifty years ago and was awarded a prize for services to the school then that means he framed someone, somehow.. but who.. i should check the library' she handed the book to Harry and said she had to go study in the library and leave them to it for now.
"we'll tell you if we find anything" Ron said.
"yeah," Hermione replied "I'll do the same" she walked out of the common room and headed for the library, not knowing where to start. She entered one of the iles where most of the information about Hogwarts was and searched ultimately coming up with nothing and returning to her dorm to sleep.
She entered the common room and saw no one was awake, it seemed like everyone was sleeping. She made her way passed the chairs and the couch and passed the study table. "is that…" The diary was on the table laying at a slight angle like it had been tossed on there without much care. She reached out for it but couldn't force herself to pick it up and ultimately decided to leave it as it was. She ascended the spiral staircase to the very top and entered her room.
The circular room was quiet apart from the rhythmic breathing of all the girls. She changed into her pajamas and went to sleep.
' "… going to… K-Kill… y-…you"
"Who? What? Talk to me, just this once"
"He'll.. hurt you.."
"who will?"
"Me!" Kiba's face was barely inches away from hers, close enough to feel his breath yet far enough to still see his entire head. However, he looked far from normal, his skin seemed scaly, his pupils had taken on an odd shape and his irises were grey. Infact his whole expression was beyond recognition. He moved his hand up and the room lit up in a flash of green
"Hermioneeeeeeeeeee" she heard a voice scream distantly'
Hermione shot upright, suddenly wide awake from her dream with cold sweat streaming down her face. Through the window she could see the first rays of sunshine creeping over the hills. 'Hermioneeeeeeeeeee' she still heard the echoes of the voice from her dream fading slowly. She sighed heavily and got out of her bed to prepare for the day ahead.
Throughout every class her eyes wandered across the class looking for him, but to no avail. Kiba was missing.. and the teachers didn't even seem to notice his absence. How odd.
"Hermione!" Ron called out running over to the girl as she walked through the courtyard. "We got something"
"So, i wrote in the diary last night and it responded, with letters on the parchment…"
'It belonged to my father… i feel like I'm talking to him, telling him how i feel..'
"…and that's when the diary spit me out again" Harry finished
"I still don't know Harry, we shouldn't trust that Riddle, he seems like a dirty rotten snitch to me" Ron added
"Maybe we should just pay Hagrid a visit and ask him" Harry suggested
"Yeah, that'll be a cheerful visit 'Hello Hagrid. Tell us, have you been setting something mad and hairy lose in the castle lately?'"
"Mad an 'airy? Yer wouldn't be talkin' 'bout me now would yer?" Asked the half giant as he revealed himself behind them
"No." The three replied in unison which was followed by awkward silence.
"What do you have there, Hagrid?" asked Harry pointing at the flask that the man carried
"Oh, this is fleash-eating-slug-repellant. For them Mandrakes" he replied "i best continue, take care of yer selves"
"Harry come quick! I don't know who did it, but you have to see it" Neville yelled out of nowhere coming to a halt just in front of the trio. The followed the boy up to the common room and into the dorm of the second years which was in utter chaos. Harry's drawers were opened and all his belongings had been thrown to the floor, even Hedwig's cage.
"It must have been a Gryffindor," Hermione said "or a teacher" she added
"someone who knew the password" said Neville
"They must have been looking for something" Ron said stating the obvious.
"And they found it.." Harry replied "Tom Riddle's diary is gone"
Fear stuck Hermione harder then ever before. He had it, he had found it.. but where was he? She continued thinking as she helped the boys clean the dorm before she headed for the library once more along with a book about magical creatures, desperate to find out what kind of creature Kiba used to petrify the other students when no answer came to her she decided to search for McGonagall. She wandered the corridors towards the teacher's office and bumped right into Draco as she turned a corner. The two boys beside him laughed loudly as he looked down on her with a smirk before passing her.
She got up and turned to pick up her bag and continued her way internally cursing herself for making a fool of herself. "Miss Granger, what are you doing out of your dorm at this hour?" asked the stern professor as she stopped writing to address the girl.
"I'm sorry, i was in the library and i must have forgotten the time" she explained "i wanted to ask you a question related to the events of the past months"
"Miss Granger, I-"
"It's been keeping me awake, i can't find anything about a monster that petrifies its victim" Hermione blurted out
"I cannot tell you Miss Granger, i suggest you get some sleep" McGonagall said softly yet sternly at the same time. Hermione nodded and headed for her dorm, she dropped her bag and noticed something fall out if it. It was a crumpled up piece of parchment.
'i knew Malfoy dropped something in my bag' she picked up the paper ball and prepared to drop it into the trashcan but hesitated, some sort of curiosity stopped her. What would Malfoy write? What did he not dare to tell her in front of his friends?
She unfolded the parchment and realized that it was a page, that had been ripped out of a book. She sat down on her bed and turned on her night light, which caused the other sleeping girls to turn their backs to her.
"The Basilisk" she read aloud. She scanned the page and her thoughts began running wildly shooting from one piece of recalled information to the next and back.
' "somethin's been killin' them Roosters" '
"… the cry if the roster will kill it…"
' "a Monster, a beast that only Slytherin's heir can control" '
"…one of the first serpents to roam the Earth…"
' "last time the chamber was opened, a Mudblood died" '
"…looking into it eyes directly will lead to immediate death, but research has shown that if the eyes are too be seen through a reflection or see through object it will instead cause petrification… that's it, that must be the monster that attacked the students, but how would it get through the school unnoticed?" she scanned the page further and saw a handwritten word 'Pipes' "of course, but that means that it had direct excess from where ever the chamber is"
She turned off her light and laid back on her bed, thinking of anyone who could help her find the chamber but couldn't think of anyone. It was just her, she had to save Kiba, not even Harry or room could help her. It was just her and him. Her mind raced throughout the night, thinking of any possible places where the chamber might be hidden.
She pretended to sleep as the other girls woke up and then ultimately got up herself and headed to breakfast when the greatest idea popped into her head upon seeing the bloody Barron. She approached the ghost but changed her mind quickly opting to address the gray lady instead. "Excuse me, i was wondering if i might ask you something" Hermione asked as polite as she could.
"of course, but understand, i might not possess the answer." The ghostly lady responded
"I heard of a student that died about 50 years ago, would you by any chance remember who it was?" She asked with crossed fingers
"Oh i remember her, poor girl from my own house" the last said "she spent most of her time an Hogwarts crying in the girls bathroom. That's also where she died."
"Are you talking about Myrtle? Moaning Myrtle?"
"Indeed, though i liked her as a human more then a ghost"
"Thank you, grey lady." Hermione said politely as she entered the great Hall. She remained unusually quiet while Ron hyped Harry up for his Quidditch match that day, she however wasn't planning on watching her friend play she was running out of time and she had to save him.
..
Climbing. Scratching. Slipping. Falling. Pain. Repeat. Climbing. Holding on. Pain. Strain. Success.
Kiba panted heavily as he lay on the floor of the girls bathroom.
Breathe in. Breathe out. Blink. Repeat. Breathe in. Breathe out.
Kiba unsteadily got to his feet, feeling the ever closer presence of the Basilisk, the diary and recently.. his father. Wether it was hallucination it not, he saw him. All the time, when he'd wake up in the chamber, when he sleeped. And today he sent him up again, to claim a victim. Someone in particular, Harry Potter.
Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot.
Kiba walked the Halls like a zombie. His head hung low, good knees wobbled with every step his showing ribs shuddered with every blue of the wind. But beside him walked Tom with a perfect posture and a head held high. "don't worry son, the torture ends soon. Remember, for the greater good." Said Tom as he spotted someone in the distance.
…
Hermione looked down the corridor to her left and spotted two people walking towards her. Hesitant to approach she looked hard to see if she recognized one of them and then she saw him, beside the slipping boy. Kiba, looking healthy and refreshed. But as she Drew closer she realized that it had been only one person, and it was Kiba.. but he didn't look good at all. His body seemed like it would break at the slightest touch, his breaths were heavy and his eyes were barely open showing no resemblance to those she knew. His hands were scarred, dirty and blood poured from good broken nails and the many cuts.
"Kiba…" she said already on the verge of crying.
"What do we have here huh?" another voice spoke "a Mudblood?"
"how dare you-" she said turning towards the boy, the boy that looked almost identical to Kiba, only that he had black heir, and a slightly stronger jawline.
"oh Hermione, how long I've wanted to meet you" the boy said
"Who are you?"
"oh, i forget myself sometimes. I'm Tom, Kiba's father" he held out his hand but retracted it before Hermione could touch him. "now my son, he has told me allot about you, involuntarily" Hermione looked towards Kiba and he could only stare at his feet. "but seeing as the two of you are separated by blood status, i can't allow you to speak to him and longer which means… time for you to die" Hermione hard a nose behind her and expected it to be the beast. "You should see what's behind you," Tom said "don't worry, it'll hurt plenty"
"Kiba… I-" Hermione began slowly removing the mirror from her pocket as well as the paper ball. She was going to secretive herself if that meant saving Kiba. She didn't know how it would but maybe somehow.. "I'm sorry.." she prepared to turn herself around but Kiba lunged forwards without warning, grabbing her hand and lifting it and the mirror so she would see the beast behind her. And she did, just over her shoulder little the green serpent.
"NO!" she heard Tom yell as she traced it's body up towards it's head and it's…
"so am I" yellow eyes…
…
"I should have known," Tom said as he stood above the body of his unconscious son that had passed out during their little stroll "you've been so opposing since the start. And why? For a Mudblood and a Muggle. It doesn't matter.." Tom picked up Kiba's wand and pointed it at the wall to write another message in Black flames. "in the end, it's all.. for the greater good.. right Dumbledore?" Tom chuckled to himself and proceeded to levitate Kiba's corpse off the ground to carry him to the chamber. "you will understand Son, why you had to sacrifice yourself to bring me back, why Dumbledore and Potter must die"
…
"I warn you, this might be a wee bit of a shock" McGonagall said as she let Harry and Ron to the hospital wing. "we found her near the library," She said with same training her facade. "this will be the end of Hogwarts"
"Hermione…" the boys said in disbelief sharing a look. 'did Kiba do this, was it really him?'
"was she?" Harry began
"Petrified, like all the others. I know you want to stay with get but i must ask you to accompany me to your common room" McGonagall said. Harry slowly brushed his fingers along her arm and felt her cold skin. He continued down to her wrist and then her hand when he felt it, a ball of parchment. He grabbed it and hid it from view before following the professor.
They entered through the portrait hole and were greated by the entirety of the Gryffindors, all gathered to hear the news. No one would be allowed to wander the castle unsupervised. "we have to go to Hagrid" Harry whispered
"but how, McGonagall just sai-" Ron tried to protest
"i think it's time to get my dad's old cloak out again…"
--
AN: so, i know this chapter is mega rushed, but i want enjoying writing it and this is kinda what it came to, next chapter is the end of Book 2 because I'll skip Harry's perspective and go to Kiba's again since I've been focusing on hermione's POV so heavily.
i hope this chapter was fine anyways, i might change it/update it at some point in the future. I'll gonna have a couple of summer break chapters or like stories points planned and can't wait to get to POA stay tuned..
PS: not home rn and wifi is pretty shit, i hope this uploads properly.
