𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋 𝐃𝐀𝐌𝐀𝐆𝐄 ¹

37. the chamber of secrets

"V-very well," he said. "I'll—I'll be in my office, getting—getting ready."

And he left the room.

"Right," Professor McGonagell said, whose nostrils were flared, "that's got him out from under our feet. The Heads of Houses should go and inform their students what had happened. Tell them the Hogwarts Express will take them home first thing tomorrow. Will the rest of you please make sure no students have been left outside their dormitories."

The teachers rose, and left one by one.

• ✧ •

IT WAS THE WORST DAY OF HARPER'S LIFE. She, Harry, Ron, Fred and George sat together in a corner of the Gryffindor common room, unable to say anything to each other. Percy wasn't there. He had gone to send an owl to Arthur and Molly, then shut himself up in his dormitory.

No afternoon ever lasted as long as that one, nor had Gryffindor Tower ever been so crowded, yet so quiet. Near sunset, Fred and George went up to bed, unable to sit there any longer.

"She knew something, Harry, Harp," Ron said, speaking for the first time since they had entered the wardrobe in the staff room. "That's why she was taken. It wasn't some stupid thing about Percy at all. She'd found out something about the Chamber of Secrets. That must be why she was . . ." Ron rubbed his eyes frantically and Harper put her arm around him. "I mean, she was a pure-blood. There can't be any other reason."

"That's it," Harper said, standing up. "I don't believe Lockhart can do this alone. I'm going to go and tell him everything we know."

Harry and Ron agreed and the both of them got up, too. Nobody stopped them as we crossed the room and left through the portrait hole.

Darkness was falling as they walked down to Lockhart's office. There seemed to be a lot of activity going on inside it. Harper could hear scraping, thumps and hurried footsteps.

Harry knocked and there was a sudden silence from inside. Then the door opened the tiniest crack and they saw one of Lockhart's eyes peering through it.

"Oh . . . Mr and Miss Potter . . . Mr Weasley . . ." he said, opening the door a mite wider. "I'm rather busy at the moment. If you would be quick . . ."

"Professor, we've got some information for you," Harry said. "We think it'll help you."

"Er—well—it's not terribly . . ." The side of Lockhart's face that we could see looked very uncomfortable. "I mean—well—all right."

He opened the door and they entered.

His office had been almost completely stripped. Two large trunks stood open on the floor. Robes, jade green, lilac, midnight blue, had been hastily folded into one of them: books were jumbled untidily into the other. The photographs that had covered the walls were now crammed into boxes on the desk.

"Are you going somewhere?" Harper spoke up, glaring at him, daring him to fill another box.

"Er, well, yes," Lockhart said, ripping a life-size poster of himself from the back of the door as he spoke, and starting to roll it up. "Urgent call . . . unavoidable . . . got to go . . ."

"What about my sister?" Ron said jerkily.

"Well, as to that—most unfortunate," Lockhart said avoiding their eyes as he wrenched open a drawer and started emptying the contents into a bag. "No one regrets more than I . . ."

Harper had enough of this. All year she had listened to his bullshit. She was tired of it.

"Listen here, you total imbecile. That girl is my friend, my family, you understand that?" Harper said glaring up at him. "Now, I don't believe that you did any of those things you write about," she gestured at the books, "but I will make sure you get her. You're going to save her or I'll make you."