Hermione, Harry and Seamus came back to the castle with Seamus feeling a little shakey. “I am NEVER going down there again. What kind of freaky friends do you keep?” and the truth of Hagrid being sent to Azkaban for the attacks spread through Hogwarts like wildfire.

“Hey where have you two been I have been looking for you everywhere!” Ron asked as he walked towards his two friends.

“Just went down to visit Hagrid,” Hermione stated honestly, just leaving out the fact that Seamus went with them, “hey listen, I have something to show you.”

Hermione led them upstairs to the girl’s dormitory, she removed a cloth from what looked like a little cauldron “it’s bewitched to ensure nobody tampers with it, just on the off chance somebody comes in here.”

“Enlighten me, why would you brew a potion in the middle of the girl’s laboratory, isn’t there a chance you could get caught?” Ron asked.

“No, nobody ever comes in here, this is moaning myrtles bathroom.” Hermione gently explained, “Myrtle, it’s safe to come out! The boys won’t hurt you!”

A ghost, one of which Harry and Ron had never seen around Hogwarts before, came floating out with a big grimace on her face.

“Why are you disturbing me in this beautiful bathroom with that horrible bubbling stuff?” Myrtle demanded, “you’ve been doing it for a month now and I’ve been patient (authors note: yeah like she calls her moaning and groaning and screaming patient!) But now I want you to GO AWAY!”

“Alright, I’ll tell you! We want to find out about the Chamber of Secrets. We think maybe the Slytherins might know something and this is to help us get any information they might have,” Hermione said gently.

“Why does it have to be in my bathroom?” Myrtle said angrily. “Go Away!”

“Myrtle, we think that it’s the boys in Slytherin that might be causing a problem, particularly Draco Malfoy,”

Myrtle took a deep breath “Arthia Malfoy was my mortal enemy and I don’t want anything to do with her or any ideas that her family might have! GO AWAY!” she shrieked and tried screaming and even saying “she’s in here!” but nobody came.

Hermione simply ignored her and with her insistence, so did the two boys...but when she recognised that nobody was paying any attention to her she disappeared.

“I’ve got something to tell you too,” Harry said, “they say the chamber of secrets has really been opened again.”

“Again?” said Hermione whilst Hermione was making the polyjuice potion one time.

“Of course!” said Ron, “Lucius probably opened the chamber whilst he was at school here, and now he has taught Draco how to do it.”

“Maybe,” Hermione said, “but we will have to use the polyjuice potion to be sure.”

“Now these are two sleeping drafts that I have prepared earlier, they are for Crabbe,” she said handing the cup cake to Ron, “and Goyle,” she handed it to Harry, “it’s simple, but powerful. Go make sure they have them. I am going to get the hairs from my dorm. Then put on their robes. You don’t want to break your own as they are much bigger than you both are.”

The two boys left and Hermione went to the Gryffindor towers to get the required hairs that she had left in a sealed container in her suitcase.

“Hey Ginny, what are you up to?” Hermione asked, Ginny simply seemed to ignore her as if off in a world of her own.

Hermione sat beside her and placed her hand gently on her knee.

“Ginny?” she asked gently.

“Go away! You don’t understand me! Nobody does! Go away! Aren’t you smart enough to realise that I don’t have enough time to spend playing around with you anymore? I’m busy!” Ginny growled angrily.

“Ginny, I think you are spending far too much time with that diary,” Hermione stated, now this is Hermione. The book smart person who was always buried beneath one book or another, or writing about something, or spending some type of knowledge gaining exercise. Telling a girl that she was spending too much time focused on one activity and how unhealthy that was. But that wasn’t good enough for Ginny she didn’t seem to see the point behind it or even that there was a point behind it.

“So what? You always have a book in your hands yourself and when you don’t you are so focused in on what Harry is doing and what is happening with that bloody chamber that you don’t have enough time for me anymore. It used to be fun Hermione don’t you remember with the two of us?” Ginny asked, “Well I have a new friend now it’s my imagination and this.” She picked up a pen intending to continue writing in the diary and ignoring Hermione.

“Give me that diary for a minute and let’s have a conversation, like we used to. I’m so sorry Ginny I didn’t mean to get so involved in my work and this stuff to do with the chamber well after first year and the problems Harry had coping with Quirrel, our first year Dark Arts teacher, I didn’t want him left alone to cope by himself today.”

“Left alone? What about my brother? He was always with him!” Ginny looked at Hermione with eyes blazing, “He always had Ron!”

“Well you know how he can be. So...”

“So what Hermione?” Ginny placed her hands on her hips

“Well,” Hermione looked away blushing, “it doesn’t really matter. After all boys are such complicated creatures.”

“Hey! My brother isn’t that bad and I come from a family of six of them!” Ginny took a step towards Hermione “besides, at least he hasn’t always got his nose stuck in a book like you have. It’s a surprise you haven’t had a book that never closes stuck to your hands. You know there has been many a wizard stuck like that and even ended up in St Mungo’s! So don’t tell me off for spending too much time with one book when you spend half your life with several you hypocrite!”

“Yeah well I know how to cope with those books, there’s generally a warning and just to be sure I never look at any book for more than an hour at a time but doesn’t that support my argument you are paying far too much attention to that book!” Hermione yelled.

“Yeah? Well what the hell kind of business is yours anyway? You have been spending all of your time with Harry and Ron and left me alone, so fine, I will find something else to keep myself entertained!” Ginny said angrily.

“Entertained? It seems like you live in there! And I have already said to you I am just trying to help Harry he has been going through a lot you know, people actually think that HE is the heir of Slytherin! You and I both know that even if he was Harry wouldn’t hurt another person,” Hermione yelled, “but you are upsetting me by spending so much time inside this book!”

“Yeah and why would you care anyway?” Ginny roared.

“Hey! I’m just trying to look out for you, you dense idiot. I love you!” Hermione said angrily, and then she started crying.

“You...You love me?” Ginny asked, her heart started hammering a million miles per minute as she raced towards her friend. Those remarks about the diary were said out of pure anger, underneath all of that fear, that stress was a little girl who was very much in love with her best friend. “I love you too Hermione, I am so sorry!” she started to cry, “I will dispose of that diary as soon as possible if it means that much to you...”

Hermione gently cupped Ginny’s face with the palm of her hand and said “you know you really do look beautiful when you’re angry. Don’t cry, please? I didn’t mean to upset you. Just to make you realise that you have been spending an awfully long time with that diary.”

“Yes, I know, but I won’t do it anymore if it upsets you so badly,” Ginny said, putting her hand on top of Hermione’s. She had an urge to kiss her but didn’t know if Hermione meant love...quite like that so she settled for a hug. Holding Hermione so close it felt like nothing else mattered in the world, nothing but protecting her. She left the room with the diary in her hand. Hermione returned to the girl’s laboratory, after all the boys would probably have the hairs by now and it was time to try their plan.

“Add the hairs, and let’s drink,” Hermione says. They all added the hairs, with Ron and Hermione feeling quite ill after taking the potion. The transformation began. Harry felt his skin bubble and grow as he slowly became more and more like Goyle. He took a look at Ron as he exited the toilet.

“Wow you like just like Crabbe!” he said.

“Yeah but we both sound like ourselves, you need to sound more like Goyle,” Ron said. Harry cleared his throat and tried again.

“Wicked!” Ron said.

Hermione for some reason chose not to come so the two boys left to find Draco Malfoy and hopefully the answer to some questions. It wasn’t hard to find Draco.

“Crabbe, Goyle where have you two been? Pigging out in the great hall all this time? And why are you wearing glasses?”

“Um reading,” Harry said as he put his glasses in his pocket.

“I didn’t know you could read! Now come on!” Draco led them back to the Slytherin common room, “well sit down,” he said as he put his feet up on a nearby couch.

“You’d never know the weasley’s are pureblood the way they behave, they are an embarrassment to the wizarding world, all of them!” Ron automatically clenched his fists ready for a fight. “What’s wrong with you Crabbe?” Draco asks.

“Um, stomach cramps,” Harry says thinking quickly.

“I’m surprised they haven’t done more in the daily prophet about these attacks, but I guess Dumbeldore is trying to hush it all up, father always did say that Dumbledore was the worst thing that has ever been put into this school.”

“You’re wrong!” Harry says instinctively.

“What Goyle,” Draco said standing up menacingly “you think there is someone here who is WORSE than Dumbledore?”

“Um Harry Potter?” he says hopefully.

Draco smiles, “Good one Goyle, yes, saint potter, and people think that he is the heir of Slytherin!”

“Then you must have some idea who is behind it all!”

“You know I don’t Goyle, I told you yesterday. How many times do I have to tell you? But father did say that the last time the chamber was opened a mudblood died, so it is only a matter of time before one is killed this time. As for me, I hope its Granger.”

Ron stood up to defend her, but Harry put his hands on Ron’s (Crabbe’s) shoulders and made him sit back down.

“What is the matter with you two? You are acting very odd!”

“It’s his stomach ache, we should go to Madam Pomfrey and get some medicine,” said Harry.

That was all that was heard, all that needed to be heard as Goyle and Crabbe slowly started becoming Harry and Ron. They pointed that out to each other and fled the room. The boys ran all the way back to the girl’s laboratory where they had stupidly left their clothes before they lost the ability to change back into them. The first thing they encountered was seeing Ginny’s concerned face stroking Hermione’s hair and telling her “it’s alright, it will all be ok let’s take you to Madam Pomfrey.”

“Hermione what has happened?” Harry asked gently.

 “It must have been cat hair I plucked of Milicent Buldstroids robes, polyjuice potion is only for human transformations! Look at my face!” Hermione said as she turned around and the boys saw her face, covered in fur and whiskers looking very cat like.

“Look at your tail!” Ron giggled.

“Ronald!!!” Ginny exclaimed holding Hermione close to her as if to protect her from her brother’s thoughtless words.

“Come on we’ll help,” Harry said gently walking towards Hermione to help lead her, with Ron and Ginny assisting her, to go to the medical wing.

Meanwhile in Snape’s dorms, he was getting ready to meet with Metzel Humzinger.

“I don’t see what she had to speak to me about in person which she couldn’t simply write by mail,” Snape stated as he got two cups and saucers from the cabinet and got some coffee peculating. After all if he had to play host he may as well do it properly.

Before he knew it there was green fire in his fireplace and a strange looking ragged witch came stumbling through “sorry Severus, I simply had to come when you asked and if you don’t mind there are a few people who would like to talk to you.”

Severus did mind. But he couldn’t say no to someone who could possibly be bringing him answers. Answers that he so desperately wanted to know. It seemed that waiting just a few days was hard enough. Waiting anymore and he was going to burst...or somebody would get hurt. Most likely Potter. The cause of his frustration, and his confusion.

The green fire burned again and two more witches came through and four wizards. Severus was starting to feel a little bit overcrowded.

“Severus! Hi!” one of the wizards walked towards him as if to embrace him in a friendly manner...but this man was completely unknown to him. Severus naturally took a step away from this strange person and he seemed to look rather offended!

“Remember the spell?” Metzel said, the guy nodded his head and then a look of realisation hit him. Severus thought, he obviously isn’t very bright. So why would this person that he hadn’t heard from in years choose to show up in his office with a half a dozen (ok so maybe a bit less than that) but a whole heap of other people? What could they have to offer or to do that would require not sending a letter and instead bursting in at 11pm at night? Severus kept a hand close to his wand just as a precautionary measure.

“Can we take a seat?” Metzel asked. Severus nodded. The three men sat on the couch together, two of the women sat on the two arm chairs and Metzel sat on the edge of the desk. Not something that Severus was terribly happy about but she seemed to act like this was a normal event.

“We have come today to talk to you about something that happened a long time ago Severus,” Metzel said.

“Obviously,” Snape stated nervously glaring around the room at these people who invaded his peace. Although Snape had his classes to teach the next morning a part of him remained fascinated by what information could they share which could be so important.