Summers at The Burrow - Fred Weasley

Chapter Thirty-six - Secret Meetings

attacks were growing in numbers as the weeks went by and i saw nothing worth following from the trio. i was fully aware that as we all stayed over at Hogwarts for holiday, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were busy finishing up their potion and going to the Slytherins to collect information. Draco was also staying over for holiday with Crabbe and Goyle which only made him look more suspicious but i could hardly believe that he had anything to do with this.

the twins and i were banned from the previous year from playing in the snow especially since we weren't fond of Lockhart and he had decided to stay over for holiday as well instead of returning to wherever he lived. that does made me wonder if he's actually lonely at home or he just likes being in proximity of some of the most famous witches and wizards in all of Europe.

holiday was spent running around the school because Professor Dumbledore had adjusted my responsibilities from following Harry to trying to track down the culprit of the attacks. i had informed him of the diary and so we knew someone had to be using it but who was that person. as for the attacks that were paralyzing students, i knew i was safe because I'm pure blood but that came at the cost of knowing that whatever was doing this was attacking only muggle-born students and then a cat i guess. I'm pretty sure the paralyzing Mrs. Morris was just a power move.

School had resumed and with that the attack rates went up again and in the first month of term two more students were attacked. i didn't know any of the victims personally so far but i was worried for Hermione. she had to have figured out something about this by now and yet she has done nothing to protect herself.

at breakfast one morning Bob came swooping down and dropped a tiny roll of parchment into my hand and then flew off again. he didn't even want so much as a cornflake which was surprising but he also hadn't been around very often at all in the last year or two. i may not have gotten much mail in that time but Bob had hardly visited me and when he did it was because i came to the owlery. i had no reason to send many letters over summer holiday since my residence was placed in the house where my best friends lived and Lee was usually on holiday somewhere and hardly ever responded.

i untied the scroll and read the familiar handwriting of Dumbledore. he asked me to join him in his office tonight to have a chat since it had been quite a while since we spoke of my responsibilities. i stowed the letter away and went on with my day but it was sitting on the back of my mind for most of the way through my lessons.

around eight at night i slipped through the portrait and across the many halls and staircases to reach the griffin door that led to Dumbledore's office. i recited the password which took me a moment to remember then climbed the stairs and pushed through the door.

"Ah, Chloe. i was expecting you to come a bit later. Have a seat and we can begin by you telling me everything that you have found out." he said.

"well, i think its a bit obvious that whatever is doing this is only attacking muggle born students and I'm beginning to have suspicious that this thing is getting around in the walls. I've snuck through the pipe tunnels a few times since the pipe tunnels are a different system then the main ones and there always damp and have an eerie hissing sound ringing through them and resonating through the nearby pipes." i spoke quickly.

"and do you think it could possibly be a basilisk?" he suggested suddenly.

i looked at him with a perplexed look before moving to his shelves to look for a book. it came off the wall with a flick of his finger and descended into my hands. i looked at the table of contents and found the section on magical reptiles and when i flipped to the page it was the very first creature.

i read as fast as i could and the only thing that didn't add up was that it was attacking the students and even worse, it had a taste for only muggle borns. i threw the book onto Dumbledore's desk and watched as he closed it gently and sent it back to its place on the shelf. he looked at me through his half moon spectacles and i stared back for a moment before his piercing eyes found there way into my soul.