Mystique → Hermione Granger [2] ✔

I 13 I Doubts and a Jarring Visit

~*~

The diary turned out to be not as empty as it first appeared.

Initially, Alexander was not convinced. None of them was. He thought Harry was joking with them. Because how could it be? Hagrid, opening the Chamber of Secrets? It was absurd. It just couldn't be. Yet, the more Harry recounted the events leading him to believe Hagrid was responsible for the attacks until he was sick of it, the more likely the theory began to appear.

'Are you sure, Harry?' asked Ron for the hundredth time, 'Was it Hagrid you saw? You could've made a mistake.'

Harry appeared distressed, rubbing a hand across his temple. 'You think I'm lying? That I'm making this up?'

'That's not what we're saying at all,' refuted Alexander, shaking his head exasperatedly. 'You could have been tired, or wanted to see something that wasn't there. You have been obsessed over that diary for so long, mate.' He sighed loudly. 'I'm just confused, okay? I'm trying to make sense of what you told us.'

There had to be a logical explanation.

Harry stared at him, a faint glare on his face from having to tell the story multiple times. As he spoke, his voice rose. 'You're trying to say that I'm mad. Well, I'm not, Alexander. I know what I saw, believe me. It was Hagrid.'

Ron frowned. 'Look, are we really meant to take the word of some random person in a diary? This – Tom Riddle, did you say?'

'I know it sounds unbelievable, but it's true,' replied Harry miserably, closing his eyes. 'I saw the monster myself. It's real all right.'

They went silent for a while, none of them able to offer anything. Harry had given them something to consider. Alexander mulled over his thoughts. His conviction that Hagrid was innocent was waning by the minute. He inwardly sighed. Perhaps it was true. Hagrid was behind the attacks, or his monster was, technically. The facts lined up, they all pointed to Hagrid, and they were just in denial about it.

'Riddle might have got the wrong person,' suggested Hermione, chewing on her bottom lip nervously. 'Maybe it was some other monster that was attacking people.'

'We always knew Hagrid had been expelled,' muttered Harry gloomily. 'And the attacks must've stopped after he was kicked out. Otherwise, Riddle wouldn't have got his award.'

Alexander ran a tense hand through his hair. 'It's . . . possible that Hagrid may have opened it by accident,' he began hesitantly, 'Have we thought about that, yet?'

Ron snapped his head up. 'What? Don't tell me you actually believe it?' he demanded, tone incredulous, 'this is Hagrid we're talking about. We know him, he wouldn't hurt a fly.'

Alexander shook his head. 'Exactly, this is Hagrid. I don't believe that he would willingly kill a student, but it may have been an accident, I don't know.' He shrugged.