Hermione's petrification sent shockwaves through Hogwarts. Ernie Macmillan apologized to Harry for suspecting him. "Don't worry, Ernie," Harry said, voice hollow. "I get it. You were protecting your friend. I hope Justin recovers soon."
Harry barely cared about Ernie's apology. His mind was consumed with crushing the Heir of Slytherin, cold rage fueling his plans. Soon after, Hagrid was arrested, and Dumbledore was ousted. Lockhart rejoiced, claiming the case closed, and many students, doubting Hagrid's guilt, clung to the illusion of resolution.
They're wrong, Harry thought. The real Heir's out there. I'll make them pay.
His resentment toward Dumbledore faded. Only Dumbledore could save Hagrid and ensure a safe Hogwarts for Hermione and Colin. Lucius's pureblood faction, scorning Muggle-borns, wouldn't. Harry recalled Hermione's note, clutched in her petrified hand: "Pipe."
Did she see something in the pipes? Harry was close to identifying the monster. Her clue pointed to it, but her petrification clouded his thoughts. She was in the girls' bathroom with a prefect… The Sneakoscope gave her time to react. How did she survive? Then it hit him. The mirror.
In Slytherin's common room, Harry sat silently, piecing it together. Azrael and Zabini said nothing. Since Hermione's incident, Ron and Zabini had met privately, but Harry avoided everyone, guilt keeping him from Ron. He'd deduced the monster's identity and how victims survived—Hermione's sacrifice proved it. Believing it kept his anger from consuming him.
"All that's left is a plan," Harry muttered.
At the Duelling Club, attendance remained sparse despite the "resolved" case. Harry begged Banarge for his enchanted cassette player. "Please, senpai, can I borrow it?"
"No problem, but what for?" Banarge asked. "You don't look like you're craving tunes."
"When Hermione wakes, I want her to hear Potions lectures," Harry said. "Snape doesn't write key points down, and I miss things."
"Fair enough," Banarge said. "Give her those notes. But be careful—it works here thanks to Dumbledore's magic. With him gone, it's irreplaceable."
"Thank you, senpai. I'll guard it."
"Good. I'm swamped with exams. The real Heir's still out there, but Snape's brewing Mandrake Draught. Hope you and Hermione patch things up."
"I don't know what to say to her," Harry admitted. "After our fight, and now this… how do I apologize?"
"Don't fake it," Banarge said sternly. "If I woke to a mopey face, I'd be annoyed. But if someone caused a fight and didn't apologize, I'd be livid. Sincerity matters, Harry."
Harry doubted reconciliation. Hermione would oppose his plan—using curses against the monster. If she learned, she'd hate him. If he survived the encounter. As the club ended, Zabini, Azrael, Farkas, and a dejected Ron left. Luna lingered with Banarge.
"Not heading back, Luna?" Harry asked. "Want me to walk you?"
"I've got something to say," Luna replied, her poker face unreadable. Since Hermione's petrification, losing her closest female friend, Luna struggled to focus on magic.
"Need me to step out?" Banarge asked.
"No, stay," Harry said. "What is it, Luna?"
"Do you know Moaning Myrtle?" Luna asked. "The ghost in the girls' bathroom?"
"Yeah… from Halloween," Harry said.
"You went in the girls' bathroom?" Banarge blinked.
"Last year, senpai," Harry clarified.
Banarge eyed him oddly. Even a prefect like him wouldn't dream of entering the girls' bathroom. Harry hadn't gone willingly. "When Hagrid was arrested, Ravenclaws said he's the Heir," Luna continued. "He lacks the brains to control a monster, so he must've accidentally unleashed one."
"They don't know Hagrid's kindness," Harry said. "What's Myrtle got to do with it?"
"You don't know Hagrid's flaws," Luna said. "Myrtle was a Hogwarts student when the Chamber opened before. She was killed."
"What?!" Harry exclaimed.
"Is that true?" Banarge asked.
"Myrtle said Hagrid was blamed for raising an Acromantula," Luna explained. "A prefect, Tom Riddle, got him expelled. Do the adults know?"
Banarge clutched his head. Harry felt nothing. Hagrid's past paled against Harry's dark magic. It didn't erase Hagrid's kindness. "Acromantula? A dark creature!" Banarge said. "The adults likely know and pinned it on Hagrid to calm things."
"I don't think it's him," Harry said. "I hear snakes with Parseltongue. But you've got evidence, senpai?"
Banarge nodded. "Acromantulas are giant, man-eating spiders. Even a juvenile's poison wouldn't petrify—it'd paralyze and eat or drag victims to its nest. They can't resist prey."
"So Hagrid's not the Heir," Harry said.
"Still illegal," Banarge muttered. "The wizarding world's lax—crimes slide if unnoticed." He admitted bringing a Muggle device, justified if harmless. Wizards' loose ethics stemmed from magic's power, but dark magic and attacking with curses were clear evils.
"Can I tell Ravenclaw about Hagrid?" Luna asked.
Harry shook his head. "Not now. You're not popular for being close to me. They might not listen."
"Guess so," Luna said. "Wanted to join their talks…"
Her isolation's partly our fault, Harry thought. He hesitated to tell Luna his plan. Her inconsistency—beating him and Ron at her best, losing to Azrael at her worst—made her unfit for danger. Her loneliness, evident since Halloween, weighed on him. His Heir rumors likely worsened it. Did I ruin her chance to fit in?
"If you need us, Azrael, Farkas, Zabini, and I are here," Harry said. "You're our friend."
"Really?" Luna asked, pouting. "Ron called me weird."
"That's Weasley teasing," Harry said. "Not serious."
"Then include me in your plans?" she asked.
"Absolutely," Harry lied, easing her fears. His plan—deemed evil by most—he couldn't share.
In the Room of Requirement, Harry gathered Ron, Azrael, Zabini, and Farkas—his most trusted allies. "I called you to plan against the Heir," Harry said. "And to apologize, Ron."
"Zabini told me about the fight," Ron said, ashamed. "Hermione faked it to bait the Heir? I blamed you without knowing… I'm embarrassed."
Harry gaped at Zabini, who looked away. He lied to Ron? But Harry couldn't judge—he'd hidden the truth too. "We planned to enter the Forbidden Forest," Zabini said, ignoring Harry's glare. "You thinking the same?"
"Why the forest?" Harry asked.
"Hagrid sent a letter," Farkas said. "Follow the spiders. The Chamber's monster is likely a snake, but we had to act."
"You and Hagrid are close?" Harry asked, stunned.
"Didn't want teasing," Farkas said, scratching his nose.
Azrael coughed. "We planned to get a detention from Gafgarion to enter legally with a prefect escort. Ron's been to the forest, so centaurs might help prove Hagrid's innocence."
"Good idea, but no need," Harry said, sharing Luna's clue about Hagrid's expulsion fifty years ago. Azrael grimaced. "Nearly got us killed…"
"Acromantula's bad enough," Zabini said.
"It's unrelated," Harry said. "Hermione's note—'Pipe'—confirms it." He explained his theory on the monster and victims' survival. Azrael and Farkas were skeptical, but Zabini and Ron were eager.
"Hagrid's innocent! We know the monster!" Ron said. "Just need the Chamber's location?"
"And the Heir's identity," Harry said. "I have a plan."
He shared his audacious strategy. Risky and unlikely to succeed, it was safe from exposure, as Azrael noted. Reluctantly, they agreed, secretly relieved to avoid the forest.
At breakfast, eerie hissing filled the Great Hall—hiss, shoo, shoo. Students frowned, confused. Harry watched Gryffindor's table, Farkas monitored Slytherin, Azrael Ravenclaw, Ron the staff, and Zabini Hufflepuff. Luna, uninformed, observed Ravenclaw for odd behavior.
With Asclepius's help, Harry recorded venomous Parseltongue threats against the Heir on Banarge's cassette, hidden under an Invisibility Cloak and amplified by Sonorus to echo anonymously. It targeted Parselmouths to flush out the Heir. Azrael warned it'd fail if the Heir used curses without Parseltongue, but Harry's conviction—that the Heir must be a Parselmouth—overruled him. Show yourself, or I'll kill you, Harry thought, seething.
Scanning Gryffindor's table, he noticed a pale, red-haired girl flinch at the Parseltongue's end, trembling. Tapping Ron, he asked, "Who's that?"
"My sister, Ginny Weasley," Ron said. "You've met her."
Harry froze, stunned.
After the Parseltongue stunt, classes were canceled. Ginny Weasley had been taken to the Chamber of Secrets.
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