*SKIPPING HAGRIDS ARREST AND SPIDER ATTACK*
"We could've avoided William's attack, the other's attacks, and the whole following the bloody spiders' bit if she would have just let us know all the times we've been in her bathroom! Just three stalls away," Freya muttered bitterly as she stabbed into the French toast on her plate, "And now…"
Harry nodded in agreement, somber. It was the day after visiting the spiders and Hagrid's re-arrest and he had just told Freya the Myrtle realization that had kept him up. The fact that they knew what they knew now but were rendered useless in their questioning, for it was near impossible for them both to enter the out-of-order girl's bathroom near the scene of the first crime now that the security had gone up, was rather irritating.
Ten minutes into their first class, however, Professor McGonagall announced something that erased the Chamber of Secrets away from the students' minds for the first time in weeks.
"Exams?" Seamus Finnigan howled indignantly when she told them the date was set for June first, "We're still getting exams?"
As Professor McGonagall continued her lecture on why exams were not only needed but were also good morale for the school, Freya turned to Harry looking like she was just ordered to live the rest of her days in the Forbidden Forest.
"Can you imagine taking an exam with this?" she muttered miserably to Harry, holding up her wand for reasons unbeknownst to them had begun to whistle.
"I can, but I'm too scared too." Harry looked at the wand with raised brows, "Actually, I'm terrified to even sit next to you while that nightmare plays out. Would you hate me if I sat next to Dean and Seamus that day instead?"
"Of course not, Harry, I know we're Gryffindors and all but-"
Her wand sparked, unprovoked, and they along with several people who must have been side-eying her unintended weapon of choice startled back - afraid of the repercussions as Freya sighed, hopelessness in the sound.
"We can only be so brave."
With the announcements that the mandrakes were ready to cut up at last for the beginning of the petrified antidotes, Harry felt happier than he had in weeks along with Freya who was grinning from ear to ear.
"Who cares if we can't question Myrtle? William will wake up soon and start spouting out answers that are going to be just obvious," though her tone was mocking Freya smiled as she wiped the chocolate milk mustache off her lips. "And when he realizes he's missed all this study time and decides to do some hurried last-minute studying the night before we can join him! Call it bonding!"
Harry was just beginning to tell Freya that he didn't think Will would take it all that calmly if they didn't study at all by themselves before the test when suddenly Colina Creevey came over and sat next to Freya. It took him a moment to figure out what was so troubling about her arrival and once he did his brows furrowed, confused. For the first time since they'd met, she wasn't there in front of him with a smile and an overly loud and enthusiastic greeting. On the contrary, Colina looked a bit sickly nervous, her hands wrung together and twisting anxiously as she glanced at Freya and Harry.
"Heya Colina, what's up?" said Freya curiously, helping herself to another helping of porridge.
"I-I'm sorry about Will," said Colina, her voice sounding tight as he glanced up and down the Gryffindor table. She reminded Harry of someone, he realized, but he couldn't remember who.
"Ah, i-it's okay," said Harry, realizing something had to be said and he felt his heart soften just a bit for this girl who, without malice intent, had been causing him embarrassment all year. "It's not your fault."
Colina winced as if his reassurance hurt, and it was that flinch that made Harry realize who she looked like. With the way she was teetering on her chair, her arms still wrung about and her eyes trading from wide to squinting-she looked like Dobby when he was on the edge of admitting information he thought he shouldn't. Not only that but he could just imagine that if Colina had ears of a house-elf, they'd be drooping in the way that Dobby's did when he expected to be…
Punished for his actions, Harry thought, perplexed. But what could Colina possibly have done?
"I-I've got to tell you something," Colina muttered, careful to avoid Harry's eyes.
"What is it?" Freya and Harry asked together, giving her their full attention.
"It's-" Colina pressed her lips together as if not knowing the right words.
Harry leaned forward, lowering his voice so only Freya and Colina could hear him. "Is this something about the Chamber of Secrets, Colina?"
Colina paled, drawing in a deep breath, just as Percy Weasley came over, looking tired and wan.
"If you've finished eating, I'll take that seat Miss Creevey. I'm starving, see, I've only justgotten off of patrol duty."
Colina jumped off her seat as though it were electric, shooting Percy a scared look before she turned to Freya and Harry looking part regretful and part relieved. "B-Biya, Freya. Harry."
As she ran off, Freya turned to her older brother angrily. "Percy! You ruined it, Colina was going to tell us something-"
Halfway into drinking his tea, Percy choked.
"What s-sort of thing?" he questioned, coughing.
"Well, we asked her if she's seen anything odd lately-"
Percy let out a strangled sound that caused both Harry and Freya to regard him with perplexed if not amused expressions. "Th-that...What she was going to tell you, that is...That has nothing to do regarding the Chamber."
"How do you know?" Freya questioned; brows raised.
"Well...er, you see, Colina walked in on me the other day while I was-well, that part doesn't matter...what matters is I thought for sure she'd keep it a secret but...well, I guess I should have known, but hopefully she changes her mind…"
Harry had never seen Percy looking quite so uncomfortable.
"Percy? Percy Ignatius Weasley having such interesting secrets? That you need to hide from people?" Freya stared at her older brother, a grin beginning to spread across her face. "I've never felt so close to you, brother. What were you dooooing, Percy?"
Percy flushed.
"Never you mind, and really, Freya, it's not very lady-like of you to be so interested in other people's affairs." Freya frowned as Percy hastily changed the subject, turning to Harry. "Pass me the rolls, please. As I said, I'm starving."
Though Harry knew it was quite possible that the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets could be solved tomorrow when the petrified woke up, he still felt it in him the need to talk to Moaning Myrtle. Thankfully, his chance came in the form of Gilderoy Lockhart.
"Mark my words," Lockhart was saying as he ushered them around the corner, raising his brow theatrically, "When those petrified victims wake the first things out of their mouths will be Hagrid! I always suspected he was that of the bad sort…"
"I agree whole-heartedly, sir," said Harry, making Freya drop her books in surprise as she whirled on him, mouth open in shock.
"Yes, thank you, Harry," Lockhart replied graciously as they waited for a line of Hufflepuffs to pass. "Really, with Hagrid in Azkaban I can't see the need for teachers to continue walking their classes around or all of these late-night patrols…"
"Uh, yeah, that's right!" said Freya agreeably, seeming to catch on to Harry's plan as she smiled up at Lockhart. "You're such an important and busy man, Professor, and we only have one corridor to go...I don't see a reason you have to waste your time and walk us the whole way…"
"My thoughts exactly, Ms. Freya!" Lockhart said glancing around, "I guess I should go and prepare for my next class…"
"Prepare for class," Freya sneered as she glanced back at Lockhart's retreating figure. "More like he's off to curl his hair."
Harry patted her shoulder in a reashurring way, grinning slightly. Freya had finally given up on any small hope she was clinging onto before that Lockhart was even somewhat like the man he portrayed himself to be in the books after he'd begun going on and on about the obvious evil in Hagrid.
They let the other Gryffindors draw ahead and just as they were congratulating one another on their brilliant scheme, they bumped into Professor McGonagall. With some quick thinking on Harry's part, he told her they were sneaking off to see Will and to their shock she not only took the story but gave them her permission, sending them on the way,
"Best story you've ever come up with," Freya said reverently as they walked towards the hospital wing, 'And look at William, being all useful even when petrified…"
Entering despite Madam Pomfrey's mutterings on how there was no point in talking to a petrified person, Freya and Harry settled on each side of Will, a somber silence falling between them as they looked at their still friend.
"Oh, I'd love to find out who the culprit is so I can punch them hard in the nose," Freya said fiercely, frowning at Will's rigid face. "I hope William was able to see his attacker...Whaddya think, Harry?"
But Harry wasn't looking at Will's face, he was staring hard at his right hand. It lay on the blankets but when he drew closer, he saw what they must have missed before, a paper clenched tightly in his fist.
After the rather hard task of getting the paper out without ripping it, Harry and Freya finally managed to get free the paper. Their eyes widened as they read the textbook page on a snake creature called the Basilisk and beneath it, written in what Harry realized was Will's handwriting, was the word pipes.
It was a moment of great jubilation as they finished putting the puzzle together, feeling as though there was finally hope that things could get better before they got worse.
Then they heard of the kidnapping of Colina Creevey.
It was one of the worst days of Harry's life as he and Freya sat in the Gryffindor common room with Fred, George, and Percy in silence.
"She was such a tiny little midget first year," Fred said sadly as he messed around with his quill, turning it around on his fingers. "Always laughing at our jokes and stuff…"
"She's not dead," Freya hissed, ensuing another bout of silence afterward.
Later, after the longest afternoon, they'd had in their lives, once the older of the Weasleys trudged off to bed in somber silence, Freya rubbed her eyes fiercely looking at Harry.
"She knew something Harry, not any stupid thing about Percy, but about the Chambers. That's why she was taken, it's not just the fact of her being muggleborn…" Freya stared at him imploringly, "Harry, you do think there a chance that she isn't...you, know…"
Dead.
Harry winced as his mind finished the sentence feeling as though he couldn't possibly think of why she would still be alive at this point and feeling the lurch in his heart again at thinking something so terrible happened to the first year that'd been tailing him in admiration all year.
"D'you know what?" Freya continued, firing up with the first sign of liveliness she had shown since they'd heard the teacher's conversation behind the wardrobe. "I say we go see Lockhart! Tell him what we know, since he's going off to find the Chambers of Secrets, yeah? Tell him where we think it is and about the snake…"
Harry, who had no other plan and just wanted to do something to help, quickly agreed. With everyone being so miserable in the common room and feeling so sorry for the Weasley's and Harry-for it was quite obvious as the year went on that the Weasley's had grown close to the energetic first year and everyone thought Harry and Colina were close because of the pictures and the card-nobody stopped them as they left through the portrait hole.
Darkness was falling as they got to Lockhart's office, and they assumed that he was hurrying to pack gear for his monster hunt for they heard a lot of banging, scraping, and hurried footsteps as they made their way to the door and knocked. For a moment afterward, there was a sudden and tense silence before one of Lockhart's brilliantly blue eyes peered through the crack of the doorway at them.
They were let in, and it was soon clear what Lockhart was actually doing in his office as Harry and Freya took in the packed suitcases, shocked. As Lockhart revealed the truth of his 'famous work', a lot of what Harry knew of Lockhart finally became clearer. Just as they were about to yell in anger at his crimes, Freya and Harry's eyes widened as Lockhart raised his arm to obliviate them too.
"EXPELLIARMUS!" Harry bellowed before Lockhart even had the chance to start his spell.
Lockhart was blasted backward, his wand flying in the air. Freya leaped up to catch it and pocketed it quickly afterward, turning to narrow her eyes at Lockhart in disgust.
"Shouldn't have let Snape teach us that one," Harry noted as he and Freya walked to Lockhart who backed away, looking feeble once more as Harry still had his wand out and pointed at him.
They marched Lockhart to the bathroom, Freya in the back to kick his shins whenever he slowed down too much. When they got to their destination, they shoved Lockhart in first, and Harry was pleased to see they were shaking.
"Myrt!" Freya called quietly as the name echoed in the empty bathroom, "Come out here for a second!"
"What do you want?" Myrtle sniffed, floating out of the toilet causing Lockhart to start. "Come to yell at me again?"
"Nah, we'll save that for our next encounter." Freya raised her brows at Myrtle, "Myrt, how did you die?"
Myrtle's whole aspect changed as her hand fluttered to her chest and her expression looked as though she were on the verge of maybe smiling. She looked flattered beyond her years.
"Oh my, oh my!" Myrtle giggled, spinning around happily. "About time someone asked!"