Nothing to see here; move along.
While writing this chapter, I noticed my math in the previous chapter was a bit off. I'll get to that momentarily.
I don't own Harry Potter.
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Chapter 7 - Revealing the Fraud
"What?!" the other three Marauders exclaimed at Blaise's revelation.
"Yeah, that magic diary we found has a piece of Voldemort in it," Blaise said.
"But…it's gone now, Harry burned it, right?" Michael said nervously. Hermione shook her head.
"We didn't actually see it burn. For all we know, someone could have pulled it out after we had gone to bed," Hermione explained, "which means that anyone with access to Gryffindor Tower is a suspect."
"This is bad," Harry groaned, holding his head in his hands. "We have someone running around with a book enchanted with dark magic, and we don't have the slightest clue where to start." They spent the rest of the train ride discussing the diary, and who could have taken it.
"The thing is, the diary probably doesn't care who carries it. It could have been grabbed by the first first-year that walked by, even…" Hermione trailed off as she came to a realization. "Emma," she gasped, wrenching the compartment door open and running down the train, her friends trailing behind her. Hermione eventually found Emma in a compartment with Luna Lovegood and several other first-years. "Emma, I need to talk to you," Hermione panted. Frowning, Emma stood up and walked out of the compartment, closing the door.
"What is it?" Emma asked, confused.
"Right before we left for the holidays, did you find anything in the Gryffindor fireplace? A book perhaps?" Hermione asked nervously. She sighed in relief when Emma shook her head.
"Nope, all I saw was a fresh pile of logs. Hermione, what's this about?" Hermione shook her head at her sister.
"It's nothing, Sis. I'm just…worried, and I don't know why," Hermione lied. "Go back to your friends," she said before turning around and walking back to her own compartment. Frowning, Emma slid the compartment door open and walked back to her friends, who were asking what had happened.
Hours later, the Hogwarts Express rumbled to a stop at Hogsmeade Station, and the students rode the thestral-drawn carriages back to Hogwarts. When the students sat down in the Great Hall, Dumbledore stood up to address the crowd.
"I hope that you have enjoyed the Christmas holidays," he said, his eyes twinkling. "While you have been away, we at Hogwarts have tirelessly investigated the incidents that had happened last semester, and we have determined it to be a tasteless prank. As the mandrakes are near full maturity, the petrification cure will hopefully be administered within the next month. Now, tuck in!" The majority of the student population seemed to buy this excuse, but the Marauders snorted at this announcement.
"As long as Riddle's diary is floating around, the castle isn't safe; whatever's been doing this is only biding its time," Harry said darkly as he speared a potato onto his plate. "And what's more, we have no bloody clue as to what Slytherin's monster is."
"Can't we just tell McGonnagal or someone about the diary?" Michael asked. Hermione shook her head in response.
"Even if we gave her our memories, there was nothing in that vision that implied that Riddle had anything to do with this incident or the last one," she said sadly.
"But we all saw Riddle frame Hagrid!" Michael tried to argue.
"What we saw was Riddle confronting Hagrid with what at the time was solid evidence," Hermione responded. "It's no secret that Hagrid has a…interest in dangerous creatures, so it wouldn't be too difficult to convince the Ministry that the attacks were a result of one of Hagrid's pets running loose." Michael settled down when he realized that she was right; they had no conclusive evidence that Riddle was behind the attacks.
"So what do we do now?" Blaise asked. Harry sighed tiredly.
"We keep researching, and we wait," he said. "Unfortunately, we can't do any more than that."
The weeks went by, and the castle still remained silent from attacks. However, the mandrakes had become afflicted with disease, which had delayed their maturity, so the mandrake potion had to be postponed for several weeks.
Meanwhile, the Marauders still spent most of their spare time in the library, researching back issues of the Daily Prophet to find the news of the death the last time the Chamber of Secrets was opened. Today, they had hidden in a far corner of the library so Harry could open the Marauder's Map.
"Okay, so the first attack was Mrs. Norris, which was here," Harry said, pointing at a specific point on the map.
"Yeah, and Nick and Justin were found here," Hermione said, pointing to a different point on the map. "Shame we don't know where Penelope Clearwater was found."
"We've got to make due with what we've got," Harry said, shrugging. "So, what do these two positions have in common?" Harry tapped his chin in thought when Michael and Blaise came up holding a yellow newspaper.
"We've found it," Michael said proudly as Blaise dropped the bundle of parchment onto the desk. Their attention torn from the map, neither Harry nor Hermione noticed a dot wander into the second floor girls' bathroom, and then suddenly disappear.
"On April 12, 1944, a Muggleborn third-year named Myrtle Meyers died due to unknown causes in a girl's bathroom…" she began to read, but trailed off as she noticed the looks that the others were giving her.
"Moaning Myrtle," they all said simultaneously. They stayed only long enough for Harry to erase his map and stuff it into his pocket before they dashed to bathroom that the ghost haunted, but skidded to a stop when they saw the entire Hogwarts staff standing before the wall that had the message on it. The original message had been erased, a new one taking its place.
HER BONES WILL LIE IN THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS FOREVER
The Marauders hid behind a corner while they watched the teachers talk to each other in worried tones.
"Do we know who was taken?" Professor Sprout asked.
"A Gryffindor first year, Ginevra Weasley," Professor McGonnagal said, looking nearly in tears. "Merlin, I can't believe this is happening."
"Well, I believe that this is your moment to shine," Snape said abruptly. Everybody turned their heads to him. "After all, haven't you been boasting all during the holidays that you already knew the location of the Chamber of Secrets, Gilderoy?" Everyone turned their gazes to Lockhart, who began shifting nervously.
"Well, you see-" he began, but was cut off by Professor Flitwick.
"Indeed, you been saying for months that the monster was lucky that it went into hiding, or you would have slain it already!" the diminutive man squeaked.
"Well, this is indeed your moment, Gilderoy," Professor McGonnagal said. "Why don't you go and retrieve Miss Weasley if you can." Lockhart gulped, and looked ready to run away as fast as he could.
"R-right," he said nervously. "Let me just go to my office for a minute and get ready," he said before walking away. Looking at each other, the Marauders decided to follow him. By the time they reached Lockhart's office, they saw that all of his self-portraits had been stripped down from the walls, and he was throwing clothes haphazardly into suitcases.
"Where are you going?" Harry asked, startling the man.
"O-oh, Mister Potter, Miss Granger, Mister Black, Miss Zabini," Lockhart chuckled nervously, knowing that he was caught in a rather compromising position.
"Where are you going?" Hermione asked, looking at the various suitcases strewn about.
"Where am I going? Oh, yes, I've just received an urgent call, unavoidable, got to go," he said quickly, resuming his packing.
"What about the girl?" Blaise spat angrily.
"Miss Weasley? Terrible, terrible tragedy, but unfortunately something I cannot deal with right now," Lockhart said, not looking at them.
"But…but what about all those books you've written? All those adventures you've been on?" Hermione asked.
"My dear girl, use your common sense!" Lockhart snapped. "Those books wouldn't have sold nearly as well if people had known that I didn't do them!" Lockhart sighed, drawing his wand. "Now, unfortunately I have to obliviate the lot of you so my dirty little secret won't get out." He turned towards them to cast the spell, only to find four wands trained on him. Michael held out his hand, and Lockhart wisely placed his wand in Michael's hand.
"Now, we are going to the Chamber of Secrets, and you're coming with us," Harry said coldly.
"I don't really see how I can be much help to you," Lockhart said nervously.
"Two words: human shield," Harry said. "Now move!" With the situation against him, Lockhart had no choice but to comply with their demands, and they led him to the second floor girls' bathroom.
"Myrtle, how did you die?" Harry asked. The specter giggled girlishly before answering.
"Oh, it was awful," she said. "I was here, crying, because people made fun of my glasses, when I heard a boy. He was hissing and spitting, and I opened the door to tell him that boys weren't allowed in here, when I saw a pair of big, yellow eyes staring right at me, and then…I died."
"Where were these eyes?" Harry asked. Instead of answering, Myrtle simply pointed silently at the sinks in the center of the room. Harry inspected the sinks, and saw that one of the taps had a small snake stamped onto the side. He tried turning the knob, but it wouldn't budge.
"That sink has been broken for years now," Myrtle said.
"Try speaking Parseltongue to it, Harry," Michael suggested. Shrugging, Harry concentrated on a snake in his mind before bending down to the tap and whispering.
"Open," he hissed softly. A soft rumbling echoed throughout the room as the sinks shifted out and down into the ground, revealing a large, dark hole.
"Wow, looks rather deep…" Lockhart said delicately before he was shoved down the hole, screaming. A few seconds later, a loud splash was heard. "It is really quite filthy down here," Lockhart said dryly. Shrugging, the Marauders jumped down the hole one by one, falling down a slippery slide into a pool of filthy water, rodent skeletons floating on the surface. After wading onto solid ground and drying themselves off, they walked down the large, cave-like pipe.
After several minutes of walking, everyone froze in shock when they saw something long and green. Lockhart even went so
far as to faint.
"Is that a snake skin?" Michael asked, paling.
"Yep," Hermione answered, reacting similarly.
"Only one thing can make a skin that big," Blaise said faintly.
"A basilisk," they all said. Lockhart suddenly revived and snatched his wand from Michael's pocket and pointed it at the children.
"Excellent work, children, now I'm going to be taking this skin back with me," Lockhart said defiantly. "I'll tell the others about how you saw poor Miss Weasley's mangled corpse, and went insane at the sight, and you won't be around to say otherwise. Obliviate!" he yelled, a blue light firing from his wand.
"Protego!" the Marauders yelled, and the spell bounced back towards Lockhart, sending him flying into a wall. Unfortunately, the impact had caused a cave-in to collapse around them, separating Harry from the rest of the group.
"Guys, are you all right?!" Harry yelled through the rock wall.
"We're fine, Harry, just a little bruised!" Hermione's muffled voice replied from the other side. "You keep going, we'll dig our way out from here!" she added. Sighing, Harry gripped his wand and continued down the dark, cold cavern deep into the bowels of Hogwarts, and towards an unknown danger.
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One chapter left, kids!
I'm assuming that all the attacks were fairly close to Myrtle's bathroom, since I refuse to believe that the entire castle is situated with so many fifteen-foot-diameter pipelines and accompanying openings that a basilisk can have free reign of Hogwarts and not be seen.
Don't forget to read and review!
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