Secrets Only Trouble Knows - George Weasley

45 - Into the Chamber Itself

The the day after mine, George, Harry, and Ron's adventurous trip into the Forbidden Forest, we all collectively agreed we weren't going to bring up what happened the night before to our friends. Most of them would yell at us for how we almost died and a few of them would probably be stupid enough to claim they wanted to go take a look at the massive spiders themselves, so we casually didn't mention anything.

However, just because I wasn't talking about what happened didn't mean I wasn't still thinking about it for the entire rest of the day. In my mind, I kept going through all that we'd learned about the Chamber of Secrets and what had happened fifty years ago whilst simultaneously thinking about the things we'd yet to figure out. Meaning, simply put, my brain was quite a jumbled mess.

The whole time I was doing so, I kept feeling like maybe I had the answers right in front of me but they just weren't obvious at this point, like I had everything I needed to know but I just hadn't linked it all together yet in a way that made everything make sense. I felt like if I kept thinking about it, running through it all in my head, eventually I'd realize that I'd missed a big clue that would completely change the game and would allow us to end the terror being unleashed on Hogwarts.

I was also thinking a lot about the discovery we'd made regarding Moaning Myrtle, but it only made me even more bummed out. Our chances of talking to one of our only leads were quite slim. It would be extremely difficult to somehow escape the teachers escorting us around the school every second of the day, and even if we could, some professors still liked to stand guard near the sight of the first attack which was right by Myrtle's bathroom. It was unlikely we would get into the bathroom without being caught.

So, it was safe to say all of these racing thoughts of mine were definitely not doing me any good at all today. I wasn't coming to any new revelations and I wasn't finding ways around the obstacles that were blocking us from solving what was going on within the school. As the day went on, all thinking about the Chamber of Secrets did for me was make me distracted in each one of my classes.

However, finally my third period of the day, Transfiguration, rolled around and I suddenly had every thought about the Chamber of Secrets pushed out of my head. Professor McGonagall informed our class of fourth-years that exams were still on, despite the current state of Hogwarts. They were to begin on the first of June, which landed us exactly a week from today.

The minute she'd finished her announcement, the entire class burst out into a fit of groans and complaints, and my friends and I certainly made up a good portion of it.

"Exams?!" Kol spluttered incredulously, his mouth gaping open. "There's no way we're still being given those—"

"Professor, you've got to be joking," Lee Jordan added, a few desks away from myself and George. "That's simply unbelievable—"

She turned to face our two friends, a disappointed frown etched onto her lips. She was definitely not joking.

"The school has remained open thus far simply so that you may still receive your education," she replied sternly. "That has been the whole point of keeping you here. Therefore, Mr. Maddox and Mr. Jordan, the exams will take place as usual, and I trust every single one of you are studying hard."

Studying hard?!

Sure, I'd still attempted to try and make the best grades I possibly could this year but I would definitely not consider them to be where I would like them to be. With the gloominess that was every single day at Hogwarts, the fact that one of my good friends was lying petrified in the hospital wing, and the pressure of feeling like I needed to stop whatever monster had been released from the Chamber of Secrets, you could say with full certainty that I was not as focused on my school work this year as I usually am. I was definitely not studying hard, but couldn't everyone agree with that?