Chapter 9.
[Harry and Ron walk down a staircase to a corridor.]
Harry: I think the Slytherin common room's this way.
Ron: Okay.
Percy: Excuse me.
"Fuck! The pompous git will ruin everything!" Sirius cursed.
Ron: What are you doing do--? I mean, what are you doing down here?
Percy: I happen to be a school prefect. You, on the other hand, have no business wandering the corridors at this time of night. What are your names again?
Harry: Uh- I'm
Draco: Crabbe, Goyle, where have you two been? Pigging out in the Great Hall all this time? Why are you wearing glasses?
Harry: Ah- um- reading.
Draco: Reading? [Harry nods.] I didn't know you could read.
"Y'know what?! I take back anything I ever said against this kid." Sirius wheezed. James put his hands on his hips in a mock impression of Draco.
"'I didn't know you could read.'"
Draco: And what are you doing down here, Weasley?
Percy: Mind your attitude, Malfoy. [Draco walks away and Harry and Ron follow him. Draco flops down on a couch.]
Draco: Well, sit down. [Harry and Ron sit down.] You'd never know the Weasleys were purebloods, the way they behave. They're an embarrassment to the wizarding world. All of them. What's wrong with you Crabbe?
Crabbe: Stomachache.
Draco: You know, I'm surprised that the Daily Prophet hasn't done a report on all these attacks. I suppose Dumbledore is trying to hush it all up.
Narcissa nodded. "Makes sense." She whispered to herself.
Draco: Father always said that Dumbledore was the worst thing that ever happened to this place.
Harry: You're wrong!
Lily facepalmed. "Don't get me wrong, he is my son, and I love him, but when he gets born, maybe I'll put him through acting classes."
[Draco gets up.]
Draco: What? You think there's someone here who's worse than Dumbledore? [Ron shakes his head.] Well, do you?
Harry: Harry Potter? [Draco smirks.]
Draco: Good one, Goyle. You're absolutely right. Saint Potter. And people actually think that he's the Heir of Slytherin?
Harry: But then you must have some idea who's behind it all.
Draco: You know I don't Goyle, I told you yesterday.
Narcissa smiled and looked back towards the Gryffindors. "Told you so."
Draco: How many times do I have to tell you? Is this yours? [Harry shakes his head and Draco pockets it.] But my father did say this: It's been 50 years since the Chamber was opened. He wouldn't tell me who opened it, only that they were expelled.
Regulus frowned. 50 years ago was around the same time the Dark Lord must've been at the school. Besides the expulsion part...his theory makes sense.
Draco: The last time the Chamber of Secrets was opened, a Mudblood died...so it's only a matter of time before one of them is killed this time. As for me, I hope it's Granger.
"Why that lousy bastard!" Remus shouted. Lily looked like she was going to throw up. She turned to face towards the Slytherins.
"Is that how those purebloods think?" Lily asked. Severus simply nodded. Narcissa and Bellatrix stared fixedly at the screen.
"That's how we were taught to think." Regulus piped in. Mary looked at them.
"Do you believe it?" She questioned. Not one of the Slytherin purebloods answered.
[Ron gets up and Harry holds him back.]
Draco: What's the matter with you two? You're acting very...odd.
Harry: It's his stomachache. Calm down. [Draco opens the gift.]
Ron: Scar. [Harry touches his forehead and sure enough, there is a lightning shaped scar there.]
Peter cringed. "Oh, no."
Harry: Hair. [Suddenly, Ron's red hair returns with a fiery passion.]
Draco: Hey, where are you going? [The boys continue to run out without stopping. They arrive at the girls' lavatory.
Harry: Hermione, come out. We've got loads to tell you.
Hermione: Go away.
Moaning Myrtle: Wait till you see. It's awful.
Harry: Hermione? Are you okay?
Hermione: Do you remember me telling you that the Polyjuice Potion was only for human transformations? It was cat hair I plucked off Millicient Bullstrode's robes. [Hermione turns around and her face is like a cat.]
Gasps rung out throughout the room. Sirius winced.
"It's..not that- aw, fuck it- it's pretty bad."
Hermione: Look at my face.
Ron: Look at your tail.
[A thunderclap illuminates the dark sky outside. Inside the castle, Harry and Ron are walking on the Grand Staircase.]
Ron: Have you spoken to Hermione?
Harry: She should be out of hospital in a few days, when she stops coughing up fur balls.
Marlene frowned. "Poor Hermione. I mean turning into a cat? Yikes."
[They see water on the floor.]Harry: What's this?[They start following it.]
Ron: Yuck!
Harry: Looks like Moaning Myrtle's flooded the bathroom.[Harry and Ron enter Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. She's sitting in a window and whimpering.]
Myrtle: Come to throw something else at me?
Harry: Why would I throw something at you?
Myrtle: Don't ask me. Here I am, minding my own business, when someone thinks it's funny to throw a book at me.
Ron: But it can't hurt if someone throws something at you. I mean, it'd just go right through you.
Myrtle: SURE! [flies right into his face] Let's all throw books at Myrtle because she can't feel it! Ten points if it goes through her stomach! [puts her arm through Ron's stomach] Fifty points if it goes through her head! [puts her arm through Ron's head]
"Poor Myrtle." Regulus stated. Sirius rolled his eyes.
"She probably deserved it."
Harry: But who threw it at you anyway?
Myrtle: I don't know. I didn't see them. I was just sitting in the U-bend, thinking about death, and it fell through the top of my head.[Myrtle flies off crying. Harry steps forward and picks up Tom Riddle's diary. Later, Harry is examining the diary while seated at a table in the Gryffindor Common Room. All the pages are blank. He looks at the back and sees a name printed there.]Harry: Tom Marvolo Riddle.[Harry dips his quill in ink and lets a drop of it fall on the diary. The ink vanishes into the page. Harry then writes a message in the diary.]
Harry: My name is Harry Potter.[The message fades out, and a new message fades in.]
Diary: Hello, Harry Potter, my name is Tom Riddle.
"No way that's good news." James said, glaring at the screen.
"Oh, why dearest Jamey? It's only a diary that responds to what you write in it and looks creepily old! What could be wrong with that!" Sirius said in a faux cheerful voice.
[Harry is stunned. He writes a second message.]
Harry: Do you know anything about the Chamber of Secrets?
Diary: Yes.
Harry: Can you tell me?
Diary: No.[Frustrated, Harry puts his quill aside.]
Diary: But I can show you. Let me take you back fifty years ago.[The diary flips to a page on which the text "13th June" appears. The pages then begin to glow, enveloping Harry and making him disappear into the diary.]
Remus gasped. "What if whoever wrote the diary probably opened the Chamber of Secrets!"
"On another note, how could a student make a diary that responds to whoever writes in it...AND can show people things?" Regulus continued. Both boys looked at each other, practically having a conversation with their eyes. They looked away at the same time, clearly coming to a similar conclusion about the diary.
"Oi! A lot of people don't speak nerd here, care to explain to the rest of the class." James stated.
"No...no need to cause unnecessary worrying if we're wrong." Remus answered and turned back towards the screen.
[Harry materializes in the Hogwarts Entrance Hall, which doesn't look any different than in the present. An older boy, Tom Riddle, is standing on the staircase.]
Harry: Excuse me, could you tell me what's going on here? [Riddle doesn't respond] Are you Tom Riddle? Hello, can you hear me?[Four wizards carry a student's dead body down the stairs.]
Dumbledore: Riddle.[Harry and Riddle turn to see a younger version of Dumbledore on the staircase.]
Riddle: Professor Dumbledore.
Harry: Dumbledore?
Dumbledore: It is not wise to be wandering around at this late hour, Tom.
Riddle: Yes Professor, I suppose I... I had to see for myself if the rumors were true.
Dumbledore: I'm afraid they are, Tom. They are true.
Riddle: About the school as well? I don't have a home to go to. They wouldn't really close Hogwarts, would they, Professor?
Dumbledore: I understand, Tom, but I'm afraid Headmaster Dippet may have no choice.
Riddle: Sir, if it all stopped... if the person responsible was caught...
Dumbledore: Is there something you wish to tell me?[Riddle says nothing for a moment]
Riddle: No, sir. Nothing.
Regulus narrowed his eyes. He turned again towards Remus, to see if they were on the wavelength. Remus sighed and got up from his beanbag, shocking Sirius.
"What-"
Regulus got up from his beanbag, and they sat together on one.
"This doesn't mean I like you." Remus said. Regulus nodded.
"Strictly strategical." He answered. Everyone around them, however, looked shocked.
[Dumbledore gives Riddle a look]
Dumbledore: Very well then. Off you go.
Riddle: Goodnight, sir. [Harry follows Riddle down a Hogwarts corridor. Riddle reaches a door and, holding up his wand, enters. Inside the door is a younger version of Hagrid with a large box.]
Hagrid: [speaking into the box] Let's get you out of there.
Riddle: Evening, Hagrid. [Hagrid slams the box shut as Riddle enters.] I'm going to have to turn you in, Hagrid. I don't think you meant it to kill anyone, but...
Sirius's eyes bulged out of his head. "Hagrid opened the Chamber of Secrets?" James shook his head.
"No way." He answered. Narcissa frowned.
"What if this is how he gets expelled?" She asked. Nobody said anything.
"What if- this Tom Riddle guy framed Hagrid?" Remus whispered.
"It's a possibility. I know he uses manipulation techniques. From the way he walks to the way he talks he putting on a facade. It doesn't mean he's necessarily guilty, however..." Regulus started.
"It's something to keep in mind." Remus finished.
Hagrid: You can't! You don't understand!
Riddle: The dead girl's parents will be here tomorrow. The least Hogwarts can do is make sure the thing that killed their daughter is slaughtered.
Hagrid: It wasn't him! Aragog never killed no one, never!
Riddle: Monsters don't make good pets, Hagrid. Now, stand aside.
Hagrid: No!
Riddle: Stand aside, Hagrid!
Hagrid: No!
Riddle: Cistem Aperio! [The spell hits Hagrid's box and makes it burst open. A giant spider crawls out and scurries out of the room.] Arania Exumai! [The spell misses Aragog, who escapes.]
Hagrid: Aragog! Aragog! [He starts to go after Aragog, but Riddle levels his wand at him.]
Riddle: I can't let you go. They'll have your wand for this, Hagrid. You'll be expelled.[Hagrid lowers his head in shame.]
"I can't believe it." Mary cried.
"It was Hagrid." Marlene said, her voice barely above a whisper. Everybody looked to be in various degrees of shock. Everyone except for Remus and Regulus.
"It doesn't make sense...this implies that Hagrid did it by accident but the blood spelling out words can't be accidental." Regulus whispered. Remus nodded.
Harry: [stretching out his hand] Hagrid! [The door slams shut as Harry is pulled out of the memory.] HAAAAAGRIIID! [Harry disappears from the memory and then reappears at the table in the Gryffindor Common Room.] Whoa! [He runs off.]
[aerial shot of Hogwarts]Harry: It was Hagrid. Hagrid opened the Chamber of Secrets fifty years ago.[cut to Harry, Ron, and Hermione in a Hogwarts courtyard]
Hermione: It can't be Hagrid. It just can't be.
Ron: We don't even know this Tom Riddle. He sounds like a dirty rotten snitch to me.
Harry: The monster killed someone, Ron. What would any of us have done?
Hermione: Look, Hagrid's our friend. Why don't we just go and ask him about it?
"Exactly." James reasoned, still hoping that Hagrid wasn't the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets.
Ron: That'll be a cheerful visit. "Hello, Hagrid. Tell us, have you been setting anything mad and hairy loose in the castle lately?" [Hagrid is standing right behind him.]
Hagrid: Mad and hairy? You wouldn't be talking about me, now would ya?
Harry, Ron, and Hermione: [in unison] No![There is an awkward moment of silence.]
Harry: What's that you've got, Hagrid?
Hagrid: Oh, it's Flesh-Eating Slug Repellent. For the Mandrakes, you know. Now, according to Professor Sprout, they've still got a bit of growing up to do, but once their acne's cleared up, we'll be able to chop 'em up and stew 'em, and then we'll get those people down at the hospital unpetrified. In the meantime, though, you three had best be looking after yourselves, all right? [He turns to leave. At the same time, Neville rushes in.]
Hagrid: Hello, Neville.
Neville: [running up to Harry] Harry, I don't know who did it, but you'd better come! C'mon![Neville leads Harry, Ron, and Hermione up to Harry's dormitory. The whole place has been ransacked. Ron and Hermione stand by the entrance as Harry looks through the mess.]
"What the hell!?" Sirius yelled. He looked towards the side, expecting to see a look of outrage from Remus who should be sitting next to him. However, Sirius frowns as he remembers that he's sitting next to Regulus. "Regulus." Sirius mumbles underneath his breath. "Stupid, perfect, 'Reggie'. Why is he sitting next to him??"
Hermione: It had to be a Gryffindor. Nobody else knows our password. Unless it wasn't a student.
Ron: Whoever it was, they must have been looking for something.
Harry: And they found it. [looks up from the mess] Tom Riddle's diary is gone.
"Now he'll never get more answers!" Alice frowns.
[The Gryffindor Quidditch team is preparing for a match.]
Oliver: All right, listen up. We play our game, Hufflepuff doesn't stand a chance. [he begins leading the team out to the pitch] We're stronger, quicker, and smarter.
Fred: And not to mention, they're dead scared that Harry'll petrify them if they fly anywhere near him.
Oliver: Well, that too.
"How nice." James said.
[McGonagall is blocking the way out to the Quidditch pitch.]
Oliver: Professor McGonagall?
McGonagall: This match has been cancelled.
Oliver: You can't cancel Quidditch!
McGonagall: Silence, Wood! You and your teammates will go to Gryffindor Tower, now. Potter, you and I will find Mr. Weasley. There's something the both of you have to see.[McGonagall leads Harry and Ron into the Hospital Wing.] I warn you, this could be a wee bit of a shock.[Hermione's petrified body is lying on a hospital bed.]
"Hermione!" Frank shrieked.
"No!" Lily yelled.
"She's not dead, everybody. Only petrified." Regulus reasoned.
"Its still a shock!" Remus argued.
"Doesn't it take a while to be un-petrified?! Not to mention the traumatic experience she had!" Ted expressed. Andromeda sighed.
"At least she's okay." She said.
"Define okay." Sirius responded.
Ron: Hermione!
McGonagall: She was found near the library, along with this. [holds up a mirror] Does it mean anything to either of you?
Harry: No.[The Gryffindors are gathered in their common room. McGonagall enters.]
McGonagall: Could I have your attention, please? Because of recent events, these new rules will be put into effect immediately. [reads off a piece of parchment] All students will return to their house common rooms by six o'clock every evening. All students will be escorted to each lesson by a teacher. No exceptions. [sets parchment aside] I should tell you this: unless the culprit behind these attacks is caught, it is likely the school will be closed.[McGonagall leaves the room. The students all look worried.]
Harry: We've got to talk to Hagrid, Ron. I can't believe it's him, but if he did set the monster loose last time, he'll know how to get inside the Chamber of Secrets, and that's a start.
Ron: But you heard McGonagall. We're not allowed to leave the Tower except for class.
Harry: I think it's time to get my dad's old cloak out again.
Most people cringed at the mention of Hagrid opening the Chamber of Secrets.
"Remember, the person who opens the Chamber of Secrets has to be the Heir of Slytherin...and Hagrid isn't even a Slytherin!" Remus whispered shouted. Regulus grabbed Remus's arm.
"My original hypothesis was that the Dark Lord opened the Chamber of Secrets, which was only cemented by the fact that the Chamber was opened 50 years ago their time and around 35 years ago our time. What if Tom Riddle was the Dark Lord?" He whispered. Remus eyes widened comically large.
"That would explain how the Diary can do the stuff it does! I think you're- we're- onto something."
- [Harry and Ron, under the Invisibility Cloak, approach Hagrid's cabin at night. They knock at the door; Fang looks up, Hagrid puts the lid on his teapot and readies his crossbow.]
- Hagrid: Who's there? [walking to his front door and gently kicking it open] Hello? Hello? [Harry and Ron remove the cloak, Hagrid lowers it at the sight of them]
- Harry: What's that for?
- Hagrid: Oh, nothing, I was expecting, uh... it doesn't matter. Come on in, I just made a pot of tea. [he pours tea into a cup all the way to the brim]
- Harry: Hagrid, are you okay?
- Hagrid: I'm fine. I'm all right. [puts the teapot down]
- Harry: Di-did you hear about Hermione?
- Hagrid: Oh yeah. I heard about that all right.
- Harry: Look, we have to ask you something. Do you know who's opened the Chamber of Secrets?
- Hagrid: What you have to understand about that is... [there is another knock at the door; Harry and Ron turn towards the door as Fang barks] [whispering] Quick. Under the cloak. Don't say a word, be quiet, both of you. [Harry and Ron go into a corner, where Ron throws the cloak back over them; Hagrid pushes open the door, to find Dumbledore at the door, accompanied by another older gentleman, Cornelius Fudge.] Oh, Professor Dumbledore, sir.
- Professor Dumbledore: [as Fudge gives Hagrid a slight greeting smile] Good evening, Hagrid. I wonder, could we...?
- Hagrid: Of course. [beckons them] Come in, come in.
- Ron: [recognizes Fudge as he enters and whispers] That's dad's boss, Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic.
"That can't be good." Sirius stated. Marlene frowned.
"Listen, if Hagrid opened the Chamber of Secrets once, who's to say that he didn't open it again?" She asked.
"Marlene!" Lily admonished.
"We all know that he's irresponsible," Marlene continued. "it could have been an accident." No one contradicted her.
Fudge: Bad business Hagrid, very bad business. Had to come. Three attacks on muggle-borns. Things have gone far enough. The Ministry's got to act.
Hagrid: But I never- You know I never, professor.
Dumbledore: I want it understood, Cornelius, that Hagrid, has my full confidence.
Fudge: Albus, look, Hagrid's record is against him. I've got to take him.
"What?!" James shrieked. "Where?" Marlene shrugged.
"I like Hagrid, but...if he is the one causing the attacks then..." She trailed off.
Hagrid: Take me? Take me where? Not Azkaban prison!
Fudge: I'm afraid we have no choice.
"Azkaban!?!"
"No!"
"There's no proof!"
[The door opened to reveal Lucius Malfoy.]
Lucius: Already here, Fudge? Good.
Hagrid: What are you doing here? Get out of my house!
Lucius: Believe me, I take absolutely no pleasure being inside your... you call this a house? Hm.
Sirius glared at Narcissa. "That's your husband." Narcissa glared back.
Lucius: No, I simply called the school and was told the headmaster was here.
Dumbledore: Well, what exactly is it that you want with me?
Lucius: The other governors and I have decided it's time for you to step aside.
"What?!" James yelled.
"He's the best wizard in the world!" Sirius shouted.
"This is some bullshit!" Mary shrieked.
"Only good thing to come out of this movie." Narcissa mumbled.
Lucius: This is an order of suspension. You'll find all 12 signatures on it. I'm afraid we feel you've rather lost your touch. Well, what with all these attacks, there'll be no muggle-borns left at Hogwarts.
"That's what you want!"
Lucius: I can only imagine what an awful loss that would be to the school.
Hagrid: You can't take Professor Dumbledore away. Take him away, and the muggle-borns won't stand a chance.
"That's probably what they want." Lily huffed.
Hagrid: You mark my words, there'll be killings next.
Lucius: You think so?
Dumbledore: Calm yourself, Hagrid. If the governors desire my removal, I will, of course, step aside. However...you will find that help will always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it.
Lucius: Admirable sentiments. Shall we? Fudge.
Fudge: Come, Hagrid. Well? [Hagrid coughs.]
Hagrid: If- If anybody was looking for some stuff, then all they'd have to do is follow the spiders. Yep. That would lead them right. That's all I have to say. Oh, and someone'll need to feed Fang while I'm away. [Hagrid walks away and Fang growls.]
Fudge: Good boy. [He walks away. Harry and Ron throw off the cloak, panting.]
Ron: Hagrid's right. With Dumbledore gone, there'll be an attack a day.
Harry: Look. [Harry looks, and sees spiders crawling towards the windows.] Come on. [He grabs a lantern.] Come on Fang.
"Hagrid knows how to get to the Chamber of Secrets...so...he did open it?" Lily asked. James frowned.
"No idea."