Darkness Falls

Fifteen

1993 - Second Year

"Harry, slow down. Start from the beginning," Hermione told Harry as she sat beside him and Ron on one of the sofas in the Gryffindor common room. It was early in the morning and Hermione was still groggy from being abruptly woken due to Harry having some pressing news he had to share with them. She was struggling to understand why it couldn't wait until a more decent hour.

"I told you yesterday about the diary me and Ron found on the floor of the girl's toilets, the day after you were hospitalized," Harry started.

"Yes, that bit I'm caught up with. So this diary, that we still don't know who it belonged to or how it got there, you wrote in it and it wrote back?" Hermione asked, trying to keep up with his story.

"Sort of. The diary belonged to Tom Riddle. I wrote in it and he wrote back," Harry continued, "I tried my luck and asked him if he knew anything about the Chamber of Secrets, he said he did but he couldn't tell me, he could only show me," he paused to take a breath.

"Okay, now this is where you lost me last time. I remember his name, we've discussed him before, but explain to me how he showed you," she asked.

"It's difficult to explain, all I know is one minute I was at that desk writing in the diary and the next I was out in the hall with Dumbledore and Tom. It felt real at first, but nobody could see me and people could walk through me, almost like I was a ghost. It must've been a memory or something," Harry explained. Finally, something clicked in Hermione's brain and she understood.

"Like a Pensieve? I've read about them before, it allows the owner to review memories and can store them away. Some witches and wizards believe that by storing them in the Pensieve, it makes room in the mind for more important things. Anyway, my point is, when you view a memory in the Pensive it's almost like you're there, reliving it, but you can't do anything other than observe," Hermione explained.

"Yes, exactly like that! So I watched as Tom questioned Dumbledore about the Chamber, more specifically, about the girl who died. Afterward, he went to find Hagrid who he accused of being the person responsible for everything. He claimed it was Hagrid's monster who killed the girl, he threatened to have him expelled."

"You don't actually believe Hagrid had anything to do with it though, do you?" Ron spoke for the first time since he was woken.

"I didn't, but then a comment that Tom made has been playing on my mind." Harry answered, scratching his face, "He said the Ministry would take away his wand for what he has done. We all know Hagrid doesn't have a wand anymore," Harry finished. Both of his friends stared at him as they tried to process everything he was saying to them.

"Before we go believing what Tom Riddle has shown you in this diary and lose faith in Hagrid, I think we ought to speak to him first. See what he knows." Hermione told her friends who were looking lost.

"Besides, just because he doesn't have a wand doesn't mean he did it. They could've taken away his wand as a precaution. If they genuinely believed he was the one responsible for the death of a student, they would've done more than take away his wand. I think we all need to go back to bed. You have Quidditch in the morning, Harry, you need some rest. I'll go to the library in the morning and see if I can find any books that were checked out by Tom Riddle around the time the Chamber was opened before. I should've done it sooner really but I didn't realize how significant he actually was."

"I agree with Hermione, we need more sleep. We'll go speak to Hagrid tomorrow after your Quidditch match," Ron said as he stood up and yawned. He headed up the stairs to the boy's dormitory without a second glance back at his friends.