Harry huffed in frustration. What is up with that diary? And why is Tom so insistent on Hagrid being the Heir? Harry knew there was no way Hagrid could be the Heir of Slytherin, especially since they had most definitely pinned down the Basilisk as the monster and Hagrid could not speak Parseltongue at all, as far as they knew.
But then again, the monster in that flashback hadn’t spoken Parseltongue either. It was a series of odd … clickings? Harry frowned to himself softly, letting his thoughts run wild.
Wait, Harry sat up quickly, what if it wasn’t the Basilisk but it was ONE of the monsters? It would make perfect sense if Slytherin had not one but two monsters in case one of them failed!
This made things much more difficult. Hermione still hadn’t been convinced of the whole Basilisk theory even though it made perfect sense. Ron was only concerned in a detached sort of way, he didn’t care much about the Heir of Slytherin outside of the fact that they had confirmed it wasn’t Malfoy after all.
It seemed to be time to pay Hagrid a long-due visit.
~
Oh god, oh god. Hermione had been Petrified.
After that, it hadn’t taken Ron much convincing to accompany him to Hagrid’s cabin to finally find out the truth of what exactly he had seen in the Diary, especially that monster.
Never mind the fact that the Diary had been stolen that very morning. It really was not a great week for any of them.
~
Harry frowned up at the heavily boarded windows of Hagrid’s cabin, wondering half-hysterically whether Hagrid had gotten himself another Creature. They knocked on the door and abruptly, the door swung open to reveal Hagrid holding a battered and clearly well-used crossbow in a defensive position.
Harry, eyeing the crossbow with mild distrust, asked, “Could we come in, Hagrid? We have some questions.” Behind him, Ron remained a solid presence.
“O’ course, ‘Arry. Come in… Come in…” Hagrid mumbled with a confused expression on his face. “Sit down… I’ll make tea…”
They sat down, watching Hagrid dart nervous glances all around them as if expecting the shadows themselves to jump out at them.
“So… I take it, you’ve heard about Hermione then?” Ron started awkwardly while Harry silently observed Hagrid’s jumpy behaviour.
Hagrid let out a half-moan, burying his face in his hands. “I did… I did… Poor ‘Ermione, she really didn’ deserve that… no one did…”
Out of his line of sight, the boys exchanged a glance. Hagrid really can’t be the Heir. So what is his connection to the Chamber?
Startling all of them, a sudden knock on the door came, the boys quickly throwing the Invisibility Cloak over themselves and pressing themselves against the wall, trying to make themselves seem inconspicuous.
Hagrid opened the door cautiously, Harry suppressing a gasp at who exactly had come in. It was Dumbledore. Why is the Headmaster here?
Beside him, Ron whispered, “The short, stout man’s dad’s boss. Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic.”
Scratch that previous thought, why is the Minister of Magic here?
“Hello, Hagrid,” Dumbledore said pleasantly, both the boys shivering as his eyes gazed right where they were standing. How did he even know? “I hope you’re doing well. I’m truly sorry for such an impromptu visit.”
“Er, it’s alrigh’, Professor… What brings you an’ Mr Fudge to me home?” Hagrid, Harry noticed with some concern, had grown pale and sweaty.
The Minister huffed. “Bad business, Hagrid, bad business. If the school continues at such a rate, it’ll have to shut down. You understand we must do something?”
“You don’ mean… Professor, you know I never did anythin’…” Hagrid was gazing imploringly at Dumbledore, who nodded, frowning.
“Minister, he has my full confidence.”
“Yes, well,” he took out a pale pink handkerchief to wipe at his forehead, “Ministry’s got to do something, not a good look, you understand - Hagrid’s got to be taken.”
“Taken…? You don’ mean…?”
“I’m afraid so, Hagrid. It’s just until all this business is over, you understand-”
A sharp knock sounded at the door again, interrupting whatever the Minister was going to add.
With all three frowning (not counting Harry and Ron) at the door, Dumbledore stepped forward to answer it. The knock had come from a well-polished man, sleek and smiling coldly.
He looked around the room distastefully before addressing the room, “Well, I see you’re already here, Fudge. Good, good…”
“Lucius Malfoy?! Get out of my house!” Hagrid said threateningly. “I don’ wanna see you ‘ere.”
“Oh, trust me, I don’t want to see you or your… house either,” he sneered. “I merely have business with the Headmaster. I was informed he was here.”
“And what did you want me for, Lucius?” Dumbledore asked, that same twinkle back in his eyes, although much darker.
“It’s dreadful. You’re being absolved of your position as the Headmaster of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry by an almost unanimous decision by the governors. Why, I believe you’ll find all twelve signatures on this Order of Suspension,” Malfoy announced, something smug and satisfying twisting his smirk.
~
As Harry and Ron exited the Hut in dazed silence after the group had left, Harry reflected on the last words that Hagrid had spoken, most definitely targeted at them.
“If anyone wanted ter find any answers, all they’d have to do was follow the spiders.” What was that supposed to mean?
~
There were no signs of any spiders anywhere. It was like they had all just collectively up and disappeared! Ron wasn’t a big help in the search either, always staying a good few feet away and looking off in other directions, due to his arachnophobia. Harry was trying his hardest to sympathise but it was difficult when the only other person in the search didn’t even search.
Finally, finally, on the way to Herbology, they had found a trail of spiders seemingly heading off into the Forbidden Forest.
“Just great,” Ron had groaned. “More danger, I’m so looking forward to this.”
That singular remark had not been enough to deter Harry. They made their way into the Forest that night, armed only with their meagre knowledge of spells and Fang.
~
“I’m never doing that again,” Ron said, panting harshly. Harry, just as winded, nodded as much as he could without losing consciousness.
Even though he might not have arachnophobia, he had to agree that giant spiders, very willing to eat humans, were not good company.
Ron shook his head, finally having caught his breath. “No, you don’t understand, Harry. I’m not doing this anymore. Seriously, this is too much. We should give up on finding the Heir, Harry. The victims-” he still winced at that term “-will wake up soon and will be able to tell us who the attacker was. Hermione will be able to tell us.”
“Wait, wait-” Harry spluttered, a mix of hurt and confusion. “You’re just giving up?! Just like that?!”
Ron sighed, “Harry, I know this means a lot to you. But we just walked into the Forbidden Forest, which is named Forbidden for a reason, into the nest of Acromantulas. Known for being extremely dangerous and even man-eaters, in some cases. You saw that! They were ready to eat us! We’re bloody lucky we didn’t die out. Harry, we’re only twelve. We shouldn’t be risking our lives for such a thing.”
“Fine then,” Harry said, a bitter twist to his mouth. “I guess you’re not doing it.”
Ron nodded and said softly, “I’m not.”
~
Harry stared down at the paper in his hand, lightly shaking from head to toe. It was a ripped page from The Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, containing a passage about the Basilisk.
Of course, the only time she believed me was when she was in literal danger, he laughed bitterly.
Quickly, he raced out of the Hospital Wing to go to Myrtle’s bathroom, as had been his original goal. Suddenly echoing through the hallways was McGonagall’s voice, saying “All students must return to their Common Rooms at once. All teachers assemble in the staff room. As quickly as possible, please.”
That’s... weird. Shaking off the weird feeling, he raced off in the direction of the staff room, as quietly as he could. As he rounded a corner right in front of the room though, he bumped into someone. Groaning, he noticed the very person he did not want to bump into.
Quick as a viper, she snatched his wrist and dragged him into one of the closets inside the staff room, shushing him before he could even say anything, and glaring at him in such a way that he felt a shiver crawl down his spine.
They listened to the teachers gather one by one, as finally McGonagall arrived and cleared her throat.
“It has happened,” she said solemnly, an emotional quality to her voice. “A Student has been taken. The heir of Slytherin left a message: Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever.”
“Who is it?” Madam Hooch asked, the same sorrow in her tone. “Which student?”
“Ginny Weasley.”
Harry and Greengrass met eyes, both horrified at the sudden turn. Wasn’t she Ron’s sister?
The door banged upon, and Harry strained his hearing to try and distinguish who it was. He, however, hadn’t needed to.
“My apologies, fellows! I had dozed off - what did I miss?” It was evidently Lockhart.
To his surprise, Snape spoke next, hatred clear in his voice, sharper than usual. “Just the man. A girl has been taken into the Chamber. Your moment has come at last; did you not say you were aware of the Chamber’s entrance?”
~
Her mind racing, Daphne marvelled at all that had happened in the past few days. Potter had recounted all that he had found out including the giant swarm of Acromantulas residing in the Forest and the excerpt that Granger had had in her hand about the Basilisk. They were now making their way to Lockhart’s office to confront him. What had Snape said, that Lockhart knew the entrance to the Chamber? Why hadn't something been done sooner to stop all of this?
And most importantly, why was Potter in the middle of such a dangerous situation again?! Daphne huffed to herself.
“Why was Weasley taken? They might not be blood-purists but they are definitely pure of blood,” Daphne wondered.
“I think,” Harry answered between pants, “She knew something. This morning, she was trying to tell Ron and I something. She probably found out something about the Chamber, maybe even who the Heir is. That's the only possible reason she would be taken.”
Darkness had fallen by the time they made it to Lockhart's office, which seemed to emit a lot of noise. Potter knocked on the door, causing a disconcerting silence from within. The door creaked open slowly, not even halfway through and Lockhart peeked out.
“Oh! Mr. Potter… And Ms. Greengrass? What an odd pair…” he said, the door opening a little wider. “I'm afraid I'm rather busy at the moment… Would you require something?”
“We've information for you,” Potter said slowly, having noticed the hurriedly packed state of the room. “Are you going somewhere?”
“Why… Yes, I've had an… urgent call,” Lockhart said, his usually boisterous voice now weak and flimsy.
“Right…” Daphne said coldly, aiming an unimpressed glare at his fidgety behaviour, “And what about the Weasley girl?”
“Well - that's rather unfortunate, isn't it?” He was avoiding both of their gazes now. “Unavoidable… it's unavoidable…”
“You're the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher! Shouldn't you be the one to do something?!”
“Give it a rest, Potter. It's clear that he's completely useless. He'll be of no help at all.”
“He's running away! At this time!”
As Potter fumed, out of the corner of her eye, Daphne noticed him pull out his wand and carefully aim it at them. “Obliviate-!”
“Flipendo!”
With a bang, he hit the wall behind and slid to the ground, clearly out cold.
“Merlin, was he trying to attack us or something?”
“That's the Memory-Wipe Spell. I guess he was trying to wipe out memories of him running away like a coward so as to not tarnish his reputation.” She shook her head in disappointment. “Well, anyway, we have some idea of where the Chamber’s entrance is. We shouldn't waste any time, Weasley’s in danger.”
As they made their way out, Potter jerked his shoulder at the unconscious man. “And what's going to happen to him?”
“He's likely going to be arrested for attacking two minors. At least, he'll be in custody for a while, anyway even if he isn't convicted of it.”
“Huh,” Potter frowned. “That somehow doesn't seem right.”
Daphne simply shrugged.
~
On entering the bathroom, Daphne blinked, caught off-guard by the pearly ghost floating in front of them. Unlike the others, this one was quite young. She looked only a couple years older than them, with twin pigtails and round glasses pushed up her nose.
The bathroom itself looked as though it was in disrepair but still well-maintained and mostly tidy.
“Oh it's you again,” She said, her voice quiet and somewhat sorrowful. “What do you want this time?”
Potter replied with a simple, “To ask you how you died.”
Daphne was about to scold him for being so transparent (ahem) when she was interrupted by the ghost herself.
“Oooh, it was dreadful,” she said with delight apparent in her tone, “I died in this cubicle, I remember it so well. I'd been hiding because Olive Hornby had been teasing me about my glasses. The door was locked and I was crying but suddenly, I heard a voice! It didn't sound very human, just hissing and spitting but I could tell it was a boy. And we'll, I opened the door to tell him to go away because obviously this is the girls bathroom, right? But then all I remember is wide yellow eyes and my whole body just seized up. Next thing I knew, I was translucent!”
“Eyes?” Daphne and Potter exchanged glances. “Where did you see them?”
“Oh,” Myrtle gasped. “It was right here! Somewhere near this sink!”
Quickly, the duo crowded near the sink, getting a good look at it. “Oh look, the tap has a snake design, That seems like a clue.” Daphne pointed out.
“Do you think Parseltongue would work on it? We know the Heir was using Parseltongue to control the monster, what if the Chamber opens through it too?”
“That makes sense,” she nodded along, “Give it a try.”
As Potter was hissing at the tap, Basil popped out from under her collar. Whispering a soft “Quiet” to him, she pushed him back under.
With twin gasps, they watched the tap twist and shudder as it suddenly gave way and the sink disappeared to show a gaping hole in what was most likely a pipe.
“I'm going down there,” Potter said decisively. “We've come this far, I can't back out now.”
“You mean we, right?” Daphne raised an eyebrow. “I'm coming as well.”
As he opened his mouth to argue, she cut him off, stating, “No. I'm not listening to whatever you say. I'm going down there as well. I'm not letting you go alone.”
He nodded, seeming a little relieved. “I guess we'll have to slide down this.”
Daphne wrinkled her nose reflexively at the grime before relaxing at the sound of Potter giggling at whatever expression she had.
“You're both welcome to share my bathroom if you die! I would love some company,” Myrtle beamed at them, the pair exchanging mildly alarmed glances this time.
~
The trip down to the Chamber had been unpleasant. It was dank and dark there, not to mention both of them having to keep their eyes narrowed, ready to shut their eyes in case they stumbled upon the Basilisk.
Carefully, they made their way further down the hall when they came across a statue, one that likely represented Salazar Slytherin himself.
“What are we supposed to do now? I can't see anything past this.” Potter mumbled, squinting into the darkness.
“Why don't you try using Parseltongue again? It worked with the tap, it might work with the statue.”
He nodded, following her instruction and they watched in fascination as the statue moved to make way for them. They squeezed past and abruptly bumped into a large and tough skin… a snake’s shed skin.
Daphne quickly squeezed her eyes shut and they held their breaths, listening hard for any sort of sound. Slowly, when there was no corresponding noise, they opened their eyes and Potter sighed in clear relief.
“What?” Daphne hissed, still jumpy.
“Look, that's just the outer layer. The Basilisk likely shed this at some point.”
“That's not very reassuring, you know. Look at the size of this husk, the monster’s going to be even bigger than this.”
As Potter paled at her words, she found herself almost regretting it. Almost.
“Come on,” she beckoned. “We shouldn't keep Weasley waiting.” She'd been resolutely keeping any ideas of what state exactly the eleven-year old would be in when they arrived.
Slowly, they inched forward again. This time keeping their eyes out for any more husks as well. It wouldn't do to startle themselves so badly.
However their luck ran out and the two stared ahead, dismayed at the two paths before them. Either they could separate and make the search shorter or they could remain together but waste even more time than they already had.
“You know what we have to do,” Potter whispered to her. “We have to separate.”
“I know,” she sighed, I really don't like this though. “You take the right one and I'll take the left.”
As they reluctantly separated, Daphne found herself growing more and more paranoid. What if Weasley's dead and this was all for naught? What if Potter comes across the Basilisk while he's alone? What if I do?!
As she walked forward, the cave-like path led into a huge structure all of a sudden. Her heart beating rapidly, she let her eyes roam carefully all over the open space. Suppressing a gasp, she rushed to Weasley's side, who was lying on her back, her eyes closed partly.
Quickly, she checked for her pulse and relaxed as she found one. Just as she was about to lift her and maybe call out to Potter, she froze. There were eyes on her, making the hairs on her neck stand up.
“Well, well, you aren't who I was expecting. But this is a welcome surprise.”
Slowly she turned around, the boy continuing speaking. “You must be either a Malfoy or a lesser-known pureblood family, with those pretty features.”
The boy was tall, handsome-looking not entirely dissimilar in appearance to Potter himself.
This must be Tom Riddle, she thought dazedly. I'm looking at the person who's most probably the Heir of Slytherin.