Running Year 2

Chapter Eight

Hogwarts was a very different place after the Winter Holidays were over. Firstly, as students had returned to the school, extensive bag checks were conducted on each new arrival. The students who stayed behind were quick to complain about the room and dormitory checks conducted over the holidays - whether students were present at Hogwarts or not, teachers and house elves had arrived in every house, every room, every bed and investigated every nook and cranny. Drawers were cleared out, pillow cases and mattresses were stripped down and trunks were emptied. The students were not privy to what they were being searched for - all they knew was a student had been attacked and now they were facing tight restrictions. Talk about the Heir of Slytherin once again rose up. No-one knew who it could be, the fear around Hogwarts was becoming palpable.

As lessons began for the semester, a curfew was introduced and students were not allowed to be in the hallways unless travelling to a lesson.

"At least they're actually trying to protect the students this time, rather than just sticking their heads in the sand and hoping no-one else gets petrified," Hermione sighed one day. The tighter grip on student movements had meant she and Harry could no longer find a way to get to the Room of Requirement without being questioned about their intentions. House-elves were now situated in every corridor of Hogwarts, ready to shoo students away and report any suspicious activity. Upon seeing them Hermione had noted the Professors must have had a 'better them than us' approach to the whole situation; she wasn't about to relaunch a SPEW campaign but her heart couldn't help but ache for these creatures being used as basilisk-bait so the teachers didn't have to take meaningful action. As of now, she and Harry were spending a lot of time in the Gryffindor common room.

"I don't think so," Harry frowned. "Ginny clearly doesn't have the notebook anymore, you saw that letter she was writing, she probably got scared and threw the diary away too quickly for Tom's liking. He decided to punish her, likely using someone else and Dumbledore doesn't know what to do."

"Right," Hermione paused. "Whoever has the diary now, Dumbledore can't control them or he just doesn't even know who it is, that's why they've been investigating the students so thoroughly."

It can't be anyone in our house, Hermione thought to herself that night. No-one in the Gryffindor house had been behaving like Ginny once was - closed off, mood swings, sickly; everyone seemed.. normal? The Weasley boys had been more downcast, but that was understandable given the circumstances. Hermione didn't know anyone in the other houses well enough to start throwing accusations around. Whoever it was needed to make a mistake, get overly confident, over zealous, and make a mistake. Then, they could catch them and hopefully destroy the diary without Dumbledore finding out.

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February rolled around quicker than expected and Dumbledore was panicking. Sure, no-one else was attacked and the students were safe so far, whatever. He couldn't find this damn diary. He'd searched the castle top to bottom several times. If he had to hear McGonagall praise him for his vigilance and dedication he was going to fire her. Not a single student was found with any kind of contraband which was even more concerning - the students were too aware of the checks, if they had anything on them, they'd had a chance to throw it away.

His pet Snape was being useless too, if anyone was going to have the diary, he expected it to be one of the Slytherins but not a single one had confided as such in their Head of House or at least bragged about it enough for it to get back to him. He needed to deal with this.

If he could, he would've stormed straight into the chamber and dealt with the basilisk himself - unfortunately, he knew neither where it was, nor how to access it and he was sure parseltongue would be involved somehow. He needed Harry Potter.