Adventures of Harriet Potter

The Chamber of Secrets

"All those times we were in that bathroom, and she was just three toilets away," said Ron bitterly at breakfast next day, "and we could've asked her, and now . . ." It had been hard enough trying to look for spiders. Escaping their teachers long enough for Ron to sneak into a girls' lavatory, the girls' lavatory, moreover, right next to the scene of the first attack, was going to be almost impossible. It was nigh impossible for Harriet herself, since teachers needed to accompany students to at least the door of the lavatory and timed each student to minimize the chances of said students being attacked right under their noses. But something happened in their first lesson, Transfiguration, that drove the Chamber of Secrets out of their minds for the first time in weeks. Ten minutes into the class, Professor McGonagall told them that their exams would start on the first of June, one week from today. "Exams?" howled Seamus Finnigan. "We're still getting exams?"
There was a loud bang behind Harriet as Neville Longbottom's wand slipped, vanishing one of the legs on his desk. Professor McGonagall restored it with a wave of her own wand, and turned, frowning, to Seamus. "The whole point of keeping the school open at this time is for you to receive your education," she said sternly. "The exams will therefore take place as usual, and I trust you are all studying hard." Studying hard! It had hardly occurred to Harriet that there would be exams with the castle in this state. There was a great deal of mutinous muttering around the room, which made Professor McGonagall scowl even more darkly.
"Professor Dumbledore's instructions were to keep the school running as normally as possible," she said. "And that, I need hardly point out, means finding out how much you have learned this year." Harriet looked down at the pair of white rabbits she was supposed to be turning into slippers. What had she learned so far this year? She couldn't seem to think of anything that would be useful in an exam at the moment. Ron looked as though he'd just been told he had to go and live in the Forbidden Forest. "Can you imagine me taking exams with this?" he asked Harriet, holding up his wand, which had just started whistling loudly. Harriet gave her best encouraging look, while planning to take extensive notes to share with Hermione if she was awake in time.

Three days before their first exam, Professor McGonagall made another announcement at breakfast. "I have good news," she said, and the Great Hall, instead of falling silent, erupted. "Dumbledore's coming back!" several people yelled joyfully. "You've caught the Heir of Slytherin!" squealed a girl at the Ravenclaw table. "Quidditch matches are back on!" roared Wood excitedly. When the hubbub had subsided, Professor McGonagall said, "Professor Sprout has informed me that the Mandrakes are ready for cutting at last. Tonight, we will be able to revive those people who have been Petrified. I need hardly remind you all that one of them may well be able to tell us who, or what, attacked them. I am hopeful that this dreadful year will end with our catching the culprit."
There was an explosion of cheering. Harriet looked over at the Slytherin table and wasn't at all surprised to see that Draco Malfoy hadn't joined in. Ron, however, was looking happier than he'd looked in days. "It won't matter that we never asked Myrtle, then!" he said to Harriet. "Hermione'll probably have all the answers when they wake her up! Mind you, she'll go crazy when she finds out we've got exams in three days' time. She hasn't studied. It might be kinder to leave her where she is till they're over. Ow!" Harriet punched him in the arm, having missed Hermione terribly while studying and taking notes for both of them.
Just then, Ginny Weasley came over and sat down next to Ron. She looked tense and nervous, and Harriet noticed that her hands were twisting in her lap. "What's up?" said Ron, helping himself to more porridge. Ginny didn't say anything, but glanced up and down the Gryffindor table with a scared look on her face that reminded Harriet of someone, though she couldn't think who. "Spit it out," said Ron, watching her. Harriet suddenly realized who Ginny looked like. She was rocking backward and forward slightly in her chair, exactly like Dobby did when he was teetering on the edge of revealing forbidden information.
"I've got to tell you something," Ginny mumbled, carefully not looking at Harriet. "What is it?" said Harriet. Ginny looked as though she couldn't find the right words. "What?" said Ron. Ginny opened her mouth, but no sound came out. Harriet leaned forward and spoke quietly, so that only Ginny and Ron could hear her. "Is it something about the Chamber of Secrets? Have you seen something? Someone acting oddly?" she asked, having a feeling it just might be true. Harriet noted that Ginny looked significantly paler than she did during her time at the burrow.
Ginny drew a deep breath and, at that precise moment, Percy Weasley appeared, looking tired and wan. "If you've finished eating, I'll take that seat, Ginny. I'm starving, I've only just come off patrol duty." he said. Ginny jumped up as though her chair had just been electrified, gave Percy a fleeting, frightened look, and scampered away. Percy sat down and grabbed a mug from the center of the table. "Percy!" said Ron angrily. "She was just about to tell us something important!" Halfway through a gulp of tea, Percy choked. "What sort of thing?" he said, coughing. Harriet narrowed her eyes. "I just asked her if she'd seen anything odd, and she started to say —" she said, probing him slightly.
"Oh — that — that's nothing to do with the Chamber of Secrets," said Percy at once. "How do you know?" said Ron, his eyebrows raised. "Well, er, if you must know, Ginny, er, walked in on me the other day when I was — well, never mind — the point is, she spotted me doing something and I, um, I asked her not to mention it to anybody. I must say, I did think she'd keep her word. It's nothing, really, I'd just rather —" Harriet had never seen Percy look so uncomfortable. She suspected it was related to his Ravenclaw girlfriend. "What were you doing, Percy?" said Ron, grinning. Obviously clueless about the matter of love and privacy. "Go on, tell us, we won't laugh." Percy didn't smile back. Harriet didn't blame him. "Pass me those rolls, Harriet, I'm starving." he said, changing the subject. She handed him the rolls while Ron fumed from being ignored by his older brother.