A Young Wizard's Journey - The Chamber of Secrets

Diagnosis and Detections

Dumbledore's mutterings had grown louder and faster, his hand now replaced with his wand as he tapped Mrs Norris unmoving body. Y/N stuffed the chocolate into his mouth and bit down. The rippling lessened but didn't subside.

'... I remember something very similar happening in Ouagadogou,' said Lockhart, 'a series of attacks, the full story's in my autobiography, I was able to provide the townsfolk with various amulets, which cleared the matter up at once...'

'Professor Lockhart,' said Y/N. 'As much as we all enjoy hearing about your stories, perhaps it would be best to keep them to a minimum whilst Filch does his best to not have a breakdown over his best friend being like that?'

Lockhart stammered and Filch raised his head to look at Y/N. He couldn't read his expression, but his eyes were red and puffy.

'Right, of course,' said Lockhart, falling silent at last. Hermione squeezed his hand and smiled weakly at him before placing her head onto his shoulder once more.

After what felt like a century, Dumbledore straightened up.

'She's not dead, Argus,' he said softly.

Filch's head shot back up out of his hands as he looked at Mrs Norris' unmoving body.

'Not dead?' he choked. 'But why's she all stiff and frozen?'

'She has been petrified. But how, I cannot say,' said Dumbledore, raising his voice slightly for the second sentence as Lockhart also attempted to speak.

'Did you see anything?' Filch asked turning towards Y/N. His voice wasn't angry, it was almost pleading.

'I'm sorry Filch, but no,' said Y/N. 'We just found her like that.'

'If I may speak, Headmaster,' said Snape, looming from out of the shadows. Y/N heard Harry gulp.

'These four may have simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time-' the words sounded reassuring but all four of them could see the smile creeping onto his face, Snape was far from done '-But, we do have a set of suspicious circumstances here. Why were you in that corridor at all? Why weren't you at the Halloween feast?'

Harry launched into the story of the Deathday party.

'There were hundreds of ghosts, they'll tell you we were there-'

'But why not join the feast afterwards?' asked Snape, his eyes narrowing. 'Why go up to that corridor?'

Y/N felt Ron and Hermione look at Harry and figured it would be best to get attention off him.

'We figured the feast would be over not long after. We knew we'd missed most of it, we'd have sat down just to get up and leave with everyone.'

'Without supper?' asked Snape, his eyes now turning onto Y/N. 'I didn't think ghosts provided food fit for living people at their parties. An exception could have been made I'm sure.'

'I hardly think any of these students are responsible, Severus,' snapped McGonagall before Y/N could respond.

Dumbledore was nodding. 'It would take powerful Dark Magic of the most advanced level to perform something such as this,' he said as he gestured at Mrs Norris.

'I still do not believe that Mr L/N or Potter are being entirely truthful,' Snape continued maliciously. 'It might be a good idea if they were deprived of certain privileges until they are ready to tell us the whole story. I personally feel they should be taken off the Gryffindor Quidditch team until they are ready to be honest.'

'This cat was hardly hit over the head with a broomstick,' said McGonagall. 'There is no evidence at all that any of these students have done anything wrong.'