Harry Potter and the Prince of Slytherin

Chapter 42: Revelations in a Disused Lavatory

The Staff Room
3:15 p.m.

Harry slid to a stop near the door to the Staff Room so suddenly that Amy and Ginny nearly fell into him. Without even looking, he held up an arm to silence them. Then, after a moment's thought, he turned and whispered to the girls.

"Do either of you have a mirror on you?"

Ginny gave him a "Duh! Of course!" look and then fished a compact mirror out of her robe. He took it and dropped to one knee before slowly edging the mirror in front of the open door less than a foot above the floor. He wasn't sure whether seeing the reflection of Slytherin's Basilisk was safe or not, but he assumed it would be safer to see the reflection of its trunk rather than the eyes. It was a moot point, though, as there was no sign of the Basilisk – just a score of petrified wizards and witches, professors and students alike. Marcus and Emily in their half embrace. A petrified cat laying on its side. Neville crouched defensively in front of Hermione who was kneeling next to the six-inch wide hole she'd transfigured in the floor. Harry shook his head ruefully. Another twenty seconds or so, and she'd have made it! Harry and the girls entered the room silently, edging carefully around the petrified form of Blaise Zabini which nearly barred the entryway. On the far side of the room, Harry's mother was standing petrified with her wand outstretched while unsuccessfully shielding several students with her body. Harry closed his eyes and took a moment to lock down his emotions. Nearly every friend he had in the world was petrified in this room, along with the more likeable of his two parents, but he couldn't do any of them any good if he broke down now and cried or lost himself to a screaming rage.

"What in Merlin's name...?" exclaimed Fred Weasley from the doorway as he took in the frozen tableau in shock. Seconds later, other students appeared in the hallway behind him. Some gasped while a few others outright screamed upon realizing that the entire faculty was petrified, along with a number of students. Still others ran off to share the awful news with the rest of the school. Harry's eyes lighted on Theo Nott who stood frozen in the corner. He leaned over to Ginny and Amy.

"I need a distraction," he whispered. Without giving any sign that she'd even heard him, Ginny darted over to Fred, flung herself into his arms, and began to cry.

"Oh, Fred! It's awful! And to think if you'd gotten here a few minutes earlier, you'd have been petrified too!" As she wept, she maneuvered Fred around so that his back was to Harry and the view of the students out in the hallway was obstructed. Amy stepped out to talk to those students, providing a further misdirection. As they did, Harry moved over to Theo and, after taking a quick glance around, slid the Notice-Me-Not ring off the boy's finger and onto his own hand.

"I'll get this back to you as soon as I can, buddy," he whispered sadly as he brushed the other boy's bangs out of his frozen eyes. "But I suspect I might need it before this mess is over – for all our sake." Then, he looked around once room before deciding on a course of action. He strode over to the faculty fireplace and picked up a scoop of Floo powder.

"Potter, what's going on here?!" barked an angry voice from behind him. It was Miranda Bonnavie, with a couple of other Slytherins behind her.

"Oh, good," said Harry sarcastically. "Someone in a position of authority has arrived, even if it's not somebody useful." Without further acknowledgment of the obnoxious Pureblood, he threw the Floo powder into the fireplace and called out. "DMLE! James Potter!"

Seconds later, his father's face appeared in the green flames. "Harry?! What's going on? Wait – is that the Staff Room?"

"Dad, listen! The whole faculty's been petrified, along with all the Seventh Year Prefects and ... well, several of my friends. Can you send some aurors to the school?"