Chapter 9
Chapter Nine: The Writing On The Wall
"What's going on here? What's going on?"
Attracted no doubt by Malfoy's shout, Argus Filch came shouldering his way through the crowd. Then he saw Mrs. Norris and fell back, clutching his face in horror.
"My cat! My cat! What's happened to Mrs. Norris?" he shrieked.
And his popping eyes fell on Harry.
"Of course," Harry sighed, irritably. "I get blamed for this too."
Steve pulled him into side, giving him a one armed hug.
"You!" he screeched. "You! You've murdered my cat! You've killed her! I'll kill you! I'll-"
"You will do no such thing!" McGonagall screeched, jumping out of her chair. Her glare bored into Filch's head.
"You, so much as touch Harry, and I swear you will regret it!" James threatened.
"Minerva," Bones said, as calmly as she possibly could. It was a struggle, and you could hear the anger in her voice, but she was relatively calm and composed. On the outside at least. "I think it's time that you reevaluate Filch's employment at Hogwarts, if he's threatening to kill students, and hang them in the dungeons."
"I believe you are right." McGonagall said, her nostrils flaring.
This was met with loud cheering from the students.
"Argus!"
"I recognize that voice." Sirius said bitterly.
…
"Come with me, Argus," he said to Filch. "You, too, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger."
Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchanged worried looks. Thinking that their future selves were going to get in trouble, and get the blame like Harry had said.
…
Dumbledore laid Mrs. Norris on the polished surface and began to examine her. Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchanged tense looks and sank into chairs outside the pool of candlelight, watching.
…
"It was definitely a curse that killed her - probably the Transmogrifian Torture - I've seen it used many times, so unlucky I wasn't there, I know the very countercurse that would have saved her…."
"Oh, do shut up, Larry." Remus snapped.
"Larry?" Lavender Brown said.
"It's his real name." Kingsley explained.
"He changed it to Gilderoy, right before he released his first book." Kingsley commented.
"Larry... That sounds like an American name." Cho said in slight confusion.
"His mother's American." Flitwick piped up.
"That boy's got some intense Mommy Issues." Snape said, shaking his head in disgust.
"So, he's like a reversed Malfoy?" Ron whispered.
Which caused those closest to him to start giggling.
…
At last Dumbledore straightened up.
"She's not dead, Argus," he said softly.
Scattered around the Hall, there were a few students who pouted into their goblets in disappointment.
They were then promptly smacked by their cat loving friends.
Lockhart stopped abruptly in the middle of counting the number of murders he had prevented.
"Not dead?" choked Filch, looking through his fingers at Mrs. Norris. "But why's she all - all stiff and frozen?"
"She has been Petrified," said Dumbledore ("Ah! I thought so!" said Lockhart). "But how, I cannot say…."
"Ask him!" shrieked Filch, turning his blotched and tearstained face to Harry.
"No second year could have done this," said Dumbledore firmly. "It would take Dark Magic of the most advanced -"
"He did it, he did it!" Filch spat, his pouchy face purpling. "You saw what he wrote on the wall! He found - in my office - he knows I'm a -" Filch's face worked horribly. "He knows I'm a Squib!" he finished.
"I never touched Mrs. Norris!" Harry said loudly, uncomfortably aware of everyone looking at him, including all the Lockharts on the walls. "And I didn't even know what a squib was when I saw that."
Harry and Hermione, both made a mental note to look into what a squib is. Seeing as it's so important, apparently.
"If I might speak, Headmaster," said Snape from the shadows, and Harry's sense of foreboding increased; he was sure nothing Snape had to say was going to do him any good.
"Potter and his friends may have simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time,"
The entire Hall looked at Snape in astonishment. Their mouths hanging open in some cases. But everyone was wondering the same thing.
"Who are you, and what have you done with the Dungeon Bat?" James was just the one to say what everyone was thinking.
Snape glared at James furiously.
he said, a slight sneer curling his mouth as though he doubted it. "But we do have a set of suspicious circumstances here. Why was he in the upstairs corridor at all? Why wasn't he at the Halloween feast?"
Harry, Ron and Hermione all launched into an explanation about the deathday party. "...there were hundreds of ghosts, they'll tell you we were there -"
"But why not join the feast afterward?" said Snape, his black eyes glittering in the candlelight. "Why go up to that corridor?"
"Because we were tired and wanted to go to bed," Harry said.
"Without any supper?" said Snape, a triumphant smile flickering across his gaunt face. "I didn't think ghosts provided food fit for living people at their parties."
"We're full." Ron explained, patting his stomach with a satisfied look on his face. "Harry made sure to have Nick provide food for us."
And just like that, the smile disappeared from Snape's face. And replaced with disappointment, and budding fury.
"Ah, there he is." Sirius nodded, sagely.
…
Dumbledore was giving Harry a searching look. His twinkling light-blue gaze made Harry feel as though he were being X-rayed.
"Innocent until proven guilty, Severus," he said firmly.
Snape looked furious. So did Filch.
"My cat has been Petrified!" he shrieked, his eyes popping. "I want to see some punishment!"
"We will be able to cure her, Argus," said Dumbledore patiently. "Professor Sprout recently managed to procure some Mandrakes. As soon as they have reached their full size, I will have a potion made that will revive Mrs. Norris."
"I'll make it," Lockhart butted in. "I must have done it a hundred times. I could whip up a Mandrake Restorative Draught in my sleep -"
"Excuse me," said Snape icily. "But I believe I am the Potions master at this school."
"As much as I hate to say this but, given Lockhart's track record, you just saved Mrs. Norris' life by insisting that you make the potion." James commented.
Snape gave a small, unnoticeable shudder as he thought about what would happen if Lockhart brewed that particular potion.
…
"D'you think I should have told them about that voice I heard?"
"No," said Ron, without hesitation. "Hearing voices no one else can hear isn't a good sign, even in the Wizarding world."
…
"The whole thing's weird. What was that writing on the wall about? The Chamber Has Been Opened…. What's that supposed to mean?"
"You know, it rings a sort of bell," said Ron slowly. "I think someone told me a story about a secret chamber at Hogwarts once… might've been Bill…."
Mrs. Weasley's head whipped around so fast she almost gave herself whiplash.
"What did you tell him, William?" One could almost see the steam coming out of her ears.
"Nothing." Bill defended himself. "Just the basic story."
Mrs. Weasley's chest began to expand, like a dragon about to breathe fire. And you would have believed she would have too.
"We didn't tell them anything graphic." Charlie butted in.
Mrs. Weasley's glare turned from Bill, to Charlie.
Charlie, unlike his elder brother, didn't shrink from their angered mother. Looking her straight on, ready for anything.
"Molly." Arthur Weasley said soothingly. "They were just sharing a story with their brother that you and I had first shared with them. Bill and Charlie were both barely older than Ron is now when we did. So, we can't get angry at them for doing what we did first."
"But, Arthur." Mrs. Weasley said, turning to her husband. The anger leaving her. "Ron and Ginny are our youngest. I just want to keep them safe, and my babies for as long as possible."
"I know Molly." Mr. Weasley said. "But, we can't protect them forever. Sooner or later we're going to have to let them go."
Mrs. Weasley seemed to deflate, leaning her head on her husband's shoulder. Ginny, seeing her mother's distress, leaned over, and cuddled into her side.
"We love you mum." Fred said gently. An sentiment that was shared with the rest of their family.
…
Ginny Weasley seemed very disturbed by Mrs. Norris' fate. According to Ron, she was a great cat lover.
"But you haven't really got to know Mrs. Norris," Ron told her bracingly. "Honestly, we're much better off without her '' Ginny's lip trembled. "Stuff like this doesn't often happen at Hogwarts," Ron assured her. "They'll catch the maniac who did it and have hom out of here in no time. I just hope he's got time to Petrify Filch before he's expelled. I'm only joking -" Ron added hastily as Ginny blanched.
"Sorry Ginny." Ron winced.
"It's okay." Ginny said, still snuggled up next to her mom.
…
"All the copies of Hogwarts: A History have been taken out," she said, sitting down next to Harry and Ron. "And there's a two-week waiting list. I wish I hadn't left my copy at home, but I couldn't fit it in my trunk with all the Lockhart books."
"Why do you want it?" said Harry, making a note in his phone.
"The same reason everyone else wants it," said Hermione, "to read up on the legend of the Chamber of Secrets."
…
Mr. Binns, glancing up in the middle of a deadly dull lecture on the International Warlock Convention of 1289, looked amazed.
"Miss - er - ?"
"Granger, sir. I was wondering if you could tell us anything about the Chamber of Secrets," said Hermione in a clear voice.
Dean Thomas, who had been sitting with his mouth hanging open, gazing out of the window, jerked out of his trance; Lavender Brown's head came up off her arms and Neville Longbottom's elbow slipped off his desk.
Binns blinked.
"My subject is History of Magic," he said in his dry, wheezy voice. "I deal with facts, Miss Granger, not myths and legends." He cleared his throat with a small noise like chalk snapping and continued, "In September of that year, a subcommittee of Sardinian sorcerers -"
…
"Oh, very well," he said slowly. "Let me see … the Chamber of Secrets…
"WAIT!"
Everyone in the Hall turned to Toni, who was desperately searching for something, like a lunatic.
"Toni? What are you looking for?" Steve, the brave soul, asked.
"Does anyone have an empty notebook that I can have?" Toni said. Then after glancing at the pen in her hand, and giving it a little shake. "And, also a new pen?"
Lily was mid-incantation, to summon Toni what she asked for, when an unopened box of notebooks and pens floated down from the ceiling to gently land in front of Toni. As though, it was a gift from heaven.
"Um…thanks…"Toni said, completely confused.
"You're welcome."
Looking up, surrounded in a red aura, was a woman. No older than Tonks, in a red outfit a few shades darker than her hair.
"Hello Wanda." T'Challa said.
"Hey, T'Challa."
"Okay, I'm sorry, but where did you come from?" Toni asked, bewildered.
"The rafters." Wanda said, as if it was completely logical.
"Mhm. And, how long were you there for?" Clint asked.
"The whole time." Wanda shrugged.
Wanda strode over, and took a seat with them, ignoring the gaping fish faces staring back at her.
"You all know, of course, that Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago - the precise date is uncertain - by the four greatest witches and wizards of the age. The four school Houses are named after them; Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. They built this castle together, far from prying Muggle eyes, for it was an age when magic was feared by common people, and witches and wizards suffered much persecution."
Toni snapped out of her shock and jumped right into the fresh stack of notebooks and pens Wanda gave her.
He paused, gazed blearily around the room, and continued.
"For a few years, the founders worked in harmony together, seeking out youngsters who showed signs of magic and bringing them to the castle to be educated. But then disagreements sprang up between them. A rift began to grow between Slytherin and the others. Slytherin wished to be more selective about the students admitted to Hogwarts. He believed that magical learning should be kept within all-magic families. He disliked taking students of Muggle parentage, believing them to be untrustworthy. After a while, there was a serious argument on the subject between Slytherin and Gryffindor, and Slytherin left the school."
Mr. Binns paused again, pursing his lips, looking like a wrinkled old tortoise.
"Reliable historical sources tell us this much," he said. "But these honest facts have been obscured by the fanciful legend of the Chamber of Secrets. The story goes that Slytherin had built a hidden chamber in the castle, of which the other founders knew nothing.
"Slytherin, according to the legend, sealed the Chamber of Secrets so that none would be able to open it until his own true heir arrived at the school. The heir alone would be able to unseal the Chamber of Secrets, unleash the horror within, and use it to purge the school of all who were unworthy to study magic."
Luna sat, shaking her head sadly, as though in remembrance. And maybe a little bit something else as well.
…
Hermione's hand was back in the air.
"Sir - what exactly do you mean by the 'horror within' the Chamber?"
"That is believed to be some sort of monster, which the Heir of Slytherin alone can control," said Mr. Binns in his dry, reedy voice.
…
Harry had never told Ron and Hermione that the Sorting Hat had seriously considered putting him in Slytherin. He could remember, as though it were yesterday, the small vice that had spoken in his ear when he'd placed the hat on his head a year before: You could be great, you know, it's all here in your head, and Slytherin would help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that….
…
"D'you really think there's a Chamber of Secrets?" Ron asked Hermione.
"I don't know," she said, frowning. "Dumbledore couldn't cure Mrs. Norris, and that makes me think that whatever attacked her might not be - well - human."
"Oh, please no." Harry pleaded quietly. He'd much rather it be human, than not.
As she spoke, they turned a corner and found themselves at the end of the very corridor where the attack had happened. They stopped and looked. The scene was just as it had been that night, except that there was no stiff cat hanging from the torch bracket, and an empty chair stood against the wall bearing the message, "The Chamber of Secrets Has Been Opened."
"That's where Filch has been keeping guard," Ron muttered.
They looked at each other. The corridor was deserted.
"Can't hurt to have a poke around," said Harry, dropping his bag and getting to his hands and knees so that he could crawl along, searching for clues.
Hermione gasped. A smile creeping onto her face. "I know exactly what to get Harry for his birthday now." She thought triumphantly.
"Scorch marks!" he said. "Here - and here -"
"Come and look at this!" said Hermione. "This is funny…."
Harry got up and crossed to the window next to the message on the wall. Hermione was pointing at the topmost pane, where around twenty spiders were scuttling, apparently fighting to get through a small crack. A long, silvery thread was dangling like a rope, as though they had all climbed it in their hurry to get outside.
Ron shuddered at the mere thought.
"Have you ever seen spiders act like that?" said Hermione wonderingly.
"No," said Harry, "have you, Ron? Ron?"
He looked over his shoulder. Ron was standing well back and seemed to be fighting the impulse to run.
"What's up?" said Harry.
"I - don't - like - spiders," said Ron tensely.
"I never knew that," said Hermione, looking at Ron in surprise. "You've used spiders in Potions loads of times…."
"I don't mind them dead," said Ron, who was carefully looking anywhere but at the window. "I just don't like the way they move…."
Hermione giggled.
"It's not funny," said Ron, fiercely. "If you must know, when I was three, Fred turned my - my teddy bear into a great filthy spider because I broke his toy broomstick…. You wouldn't like them either if you'd been holding your bear and suddenly it had too many legs and…"
Ron frowned at Hermione, upset that she would laugh.
…
"It was about here," said Ron, recovering himself to walk a few paces past Filch's chair and pointing. "Level with this door."
He reached for the brass doorknob but suddenly withdrew his hand as though he'd been burned.
"What's the matter?" said Harry.
"Can't go in there," said Ron gruffly. "That's a girls' toilet."
"Ron, please don't." Percy moaned pitifully.
"Oh, Ron, there won't be anyone in there," said Hermione, standing up and coming over. "That's Moaning Myrtle's place. Come on, let's have a look."
And ignoring the large OUT OF ORDER sign, she opened the door.
George patted Percy's back, as Percy hid his face in his hands.
…
Hermione put her fingers to her lips and set off toward the end stall. When she reached it she said, "Hello, Myrtle, how are you?"
Harry and Ron went to look. Moaning Myrtle was floating above the tank of the toilet, picking a spot on her chin.
"This is a girls' bathroom," she said, eyeing Ron and Harry suspiciously. "They're not- Harry?"
"Hello Myrtle." Harry smiled up at the ghost girl.
"It's so good to see you Harry." Myrtle said, smiling back at Harry. Then turning to eye Ron and Hermione. "Why are they here?"
"We wanted to ask you something," Harry said, but was distracted by Hermione.
"Harry," Hermione asked, curiously. "You know Myrtle?"
"Yeah. This was the bathroom that I had used to make that potion last year, to help me find my birth parents."
"Oh." Hermione said, surprised. Then, turning back to Myrtle said, "We wanted to ask you if you've seen anything funny lately. Because a cat was attacked right outside your front door on Halloween."
"Did you see anyone near here that night?" said Harry.
"I wasn't paying attention," said Myrtle dramatically. "Peeves upset me so much I came in here and tried to kill myself. Then, of course, I remembered that I'm - that I'm -"
"Already dead," said Ron helpfully.
"Oh Ronald." Hermione shook head in disappointment, and second hand embarrassment.
…
Ron with his mouth open, but Hermione shrugged wearily and said, "Honestly, that was almost cheerful for Myrtle…. Come on, let's go."
Harry had barely closed the door on Myrtle's gurgling sobs when a loud voice made all three of them jump.
"RON!"
Percy Weasley had stopped dead at the head of the stairs, prefect badge agleam, an expression of complete shock on his face.
"That's a girls' bathroom!" he gasped. "What were you - ?"
"Just having a look around," Ron shrugged. "Clues, you know -"
Percy swelled in a manner that reminded Harry forcefully of Mrs. Weasley.
…
"Why shouldn't we be here?" said Ron hotly, stopping short and glaring at Percy. "Listen, we never laid a finger on that cat!"
"That's what I told Ginny," said Percy fiercely, "but she still seems to think you're going to be expelled, I've never seen her so upset, crying her eyes out, you might think of her, all the first years are thoroughly over excited by this business -"
"You don't care about Ginny," said Ron, whose ears were now reddening. "You're just worried I'm going to mess up your chances of being Head Boy -"
"Five points from Gryffindor!" Percy said tersely, fingering his prefect badge. "And I hope it teaches you a lesson! No more detective work, or I'll write to Mum!"
And he strode off, the back of his neck as red as Ron's ears.
Ginny looked at Percy with tears in her eyes. "You don't?"
"Of course I do Ginny." Percy said, slightly panicked. Even more so with his mom's disapproving look being thrown his way.
Percy got up, walked over to his sister, and pulled her into a hug until he was sure she felt better.
…
"Who could it be, though?" she said in a quiet voice, as though continuing a conversation they had just been having. "Who'd want to frighten all the Squibs and Muggle-borns out of Hogwarts?"
"Let me think," said Ron in mock puzzlement. "Who do we know who think Muggle-borns are scum?"
He looked at Hermione. Hermione looked back, unconvinced.
"If you're talking about Malfoy -"
"Of course I am!" said Ron. "You heard him - 'You'll be next Mudbloods!' - come on, you've only got to look at his foul rat face to know it's him -"
"Malfoy, the Heir of Slytherin?" said Hermione skeptically.
"It does sound a little ridiculous." Lily pointed out.
"What? But Lily!" James said.
"James, think about it." Lily said, "Malfoy, the heir of Slytherin?"
"...You have a point." said James, nodding in agreement.
"Look at his family," said Harry, closing his books, too. "The whole lot of them have been in Slytherin; he's always boasting about it. They could easily be Slytherin's descendants. His father's definitely evil enough."
"You have a point Harry."
"James!" Lily said.
"What? I can change my mind too, you know."
Lily stared at James, her mouth partly open in shock.
"They could've had the key to the Chamber of Secret for centuries!" said Ron. "Handing it down, father to son…."
"Well," said Hermione cautiously, "I suppose it's possible…."
"But how do we prove it?" said Ron darkly.
"There might be a way," said Harry slowly, dropping his voice still further.
"Of course," said Hermione, picking up on where Harry's mind was going. "Mind you, it would be difficult."
"And dangerous, very dangerous."
"Not to mention, we'd be breaking about fifty school rules, I expect -"
"If, in a month or so, you two feel like explaining, you will let me know, won't you?" said Ron irritably.
"All right," said Hermione coldly. "What we'd need to do is to get inside the Slytherin common room and ask Malfoy a few questions without him realizing it's us."
"But that's impossible," Ron laughed.
"No it's not," said Harry.
"All we'd need would be some Polyjuice Potion," said Hermione.
"Absolutely NOT!" Snape spat, like a cat who had its territory encroached upon.
"You three will not be making such a dangerous potion!" McGonagall said.
After all of the noise had quieted down, Peter piped up, "What's Polyjuice Potion?"
"It's a potion that allows you to turn into another person for a short period of time." Snape explained reluctantly.
While the SHIELD spies were definitely intrigued in this new development, Shuri turned to T'Challa, and opened her mouth to speak. But before she could, T'Challa held up a finger between them and said, "Don't even think about it."
Shuri crossed her arms under her chest and pouted saying, "Twelve year old students can get away with making it. But me, who is the foremost scientist in Wakanda, can't even get ten feet close to it, without everyone freaking out."
"Remember that last time you decided to experiment with that potion?"
"Oh, that was one time."
T'Challa finally turned away, rolling his eyes.
…
There was only one way to get a book from the Restricted Section: You needed a signed note of permission from a teacher.
"Well, I know you're not getting one from me." Snape sneered.
"I don't think anyone on the current payroll would give you a permission note to take that peculiar book from the Restricted Section." Sprout noted.
"Unless…" Flickwick said, his shoulders dropping, "Oh no."
"Not Lockhart." James whined.
"The mans an idiot!" Sirius complained.
"How did he even make it into Ravenclaw anyway?" Remus mused.
"I don't know." Flickwick said, sadly. "Your guess is as good as mine."
"Hard to see why we'd want the book, really," said Ron, "if we weren't going to try and make one of the potions."
"Thank you Captain Obvious." Nott said sarcastically.
"I think," said Hermione, "That if we made it sound as though we were just interested in the theory, we might stand a chance…."
"Oh, come on, no teacher's going to fall for that," said Ron. "They'd have to be really thick…."
"If it's not Lockhart, I will lose all faith in humanity," said Snape.
"Eat Severus, you'll feel better." Sprout said soothingly, just as dinner was served.
