On the Flip Side
Annabeth paced with the new-found knowledge towards discovering the beast.
“Snake, petrification, what do we know that can do that?” She asked, turning to the other professors.
“My dear young lady,” Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eye that set Percy on edge. He ran his hands through Mrs. O’Leary’s fur. “It is late. Perhaps we could continue this over the weekend staff meeting?”
Annabeth balked. “Continue this over the staff meeting? Albus, students are in danger!”
“And I’m certain we will figure this out,” Dumbledore said benignly. “For now, we should get some rest.”
With that, the headmaster stood and left. The other professors followed him out one by one, Pomona muttering about checking on her students. It was Filius, however, that paused at the door. He flicked his wand once, before leaning over.
“A basilisk is known to petrify,” He said quietly. “However, depending on age and typing, that is only from indirect eye contact, direct is instant death.”
Annabeth and Percy straightened with matching stormy looks. Filius nodded, knowing that adding these two to the staff was an excellent idea. He flicked his wand again, dropping the privacy charm, before he too left to check on his students.
Annabeth and Percy did some searching that night. Annabeth to the records on basilisks, and Percy to the Black Lake to see if the mermaids had any insight. He took off his bracelet, immediately feeling the rush of magic leave his body as the sea settled back into it’s rightful place in his veins. He handed his wand and bracelet to Annabeth, her matching one winking in the candle light.
Percy dove through the cold waters, waving at the giant squid and promising to see the grindylows over the weekend, before coming up to the mer settlement.
“SeaSon,” the chief greeted, swimming out to greet him. “How may we help you?”
“We think there’s a basilisk roaming the school,” Percy said gravely. “Is there anything you can tell me about it?”
The mer pondered for a long moment, before slowly nodding.
“Yes… yes I believe there was an incident about fifty years ago. One student was not so lucky and had run into the basilisk. Apparently, Salazar Slytherin placed it in the Chamber of Secrets somewhere beneath the school. His exact reasoning has been lost to time, but many blood supremacists have filled in the blanks.”
“Do you know who the student that died was?”
“No, but I’ve heard she does still haunt the school.”
Percy nodded. “Thank you so very much for this.”
“Of course. Be safe, SeaSon. And good luck.”
With that information now firmly under his belt, Percy sprang to the surface, dashing off to find Annabeth.
“An incident fifty years ago?” Annabeth confirmed as she looked through the library. “Good, we have a starting point for where the entrance might be, or at least who might be behind this.”
She enchanted a handy searching spell Filius had taught her, and soon a few books were stacked in front of her. With another charm, the words wiggled into ancient greek. It took the couple about an hour before they found anything.
“Myrtle!” Annabeth exclaimed. “Myrtle was the victim!”
“It says here that Hagrid was the accused. His wand was snapped and he was expelled. Tom Riddle, the Slytherin Prefect, was the one to bring him to the authorities.”
The two demigods shared a look. Even Hagrid wouldn’t raise a basilisk. Still though, it would be best to get his side of the story. The two trekked out onto the darkened grounds. They knocked on Hagrid’s door, Fang barking at their appearance. Mrs O’Leary stood guard outside as they talked to Hagrid, filling them in on what they knew, asking him about what happened.
“So, your spider friend, Aragog, he was who you were hiding?” Annabeth said, shuddering slightly at the mention of spiders. Percy soothingly rubbed circles on the back of her hand. Hagrid nodded.
“I swear, I had nothin’ to do with it!” Hagrid pleaded. The poor man already looked downtrodden, as though expecting them not to believe him. Given how he’d willingly downed vitriserum for them not long ago, that was unlikely.
“Thank you, Hagrid,” Percy smiled. “Don’t worry, we’ll find what’s doing this and put a stop to it.”
Hagrid smiled kindly. “I know y’ two will. Just be careful now. And don’t be afraid to ask the creatures! They might have seen what I haven’t!”
As the two professors were standing, Annabeth paused.
“Wait, Hagrid, didn’t you say your roosters had been randomly killed?”
The man nodded. Percy and Annabeth exchanged a look.
“Hagrid, are the thestrals still near the treeline?”
Harry startled awake when Percy Weasly burst into the dorm. It had been a few days since Halloween and thankfully the other students were starting to let their rumors die down a little.
“Ginny’s in the hospital wing!” Percy said frantically, Fred and George pacing outside the room behind him. That was all it took for Ron to launch out of his bed. Harry started to get up as well, but realized that he didn’t know Ginny that well. Instead, he and the other boys got dressed in a tense silence. No one say hide nor hair of the Weasley's until noon the next day, when the boys of the family ambled into lunch and sat down at the Gryffindor table.
Ron had missed Lockhart’s last class, in which the professor had started reading passages from his books for the class and acting out the more dramatic bits. He tried to get Harry to help with the reenactments before Professor Jackson ‘politely’ told him to either do it himself or stuff it.
Harry liked Professor Jackson.
“What happened?” Hermione asked worriedly as soon as Ron sat down. Harry, Neville, Dean, and Seamus all leaned over, pushing him some food. Ron took the plate quietly.
“Ginny was cursed,” he mumbled, much to the horror of his friends. “‘Parently has ben since the beginning of the year. Professor Chase and Jackson caught her. Someone apparently cursed her to…”
He leaned in to whisper. “Someone enchanted her to open the Chamber of Secrets.”
The group gasped quietly.
“Is she okay?” Seamus asked, the others nodding. Ron shrugged.
“Well as she can be, I s’pose. She was out all of yesterday, but she woke up this morning. Apparently she has a killer migraine and feels horrible that she got cursed, but over all she’s doing alright. Madame Pomphrey’s keeping her for the rest of the week, though, just to be sure.”
All of the second years breathed out sighs of relief.
“At least she’s safe,” Harry said. “And that the professors caught her and found out what was wrong.”
Ron quirked a weak smile at that, nodding. He couldn’t stomach much, but he managed some buttered toast and juice. Harry and Hermione remained glued to his sides for the entire day, Neville, Dean, and Seamus often sitting near them and drawing the into a game of Exploding Snap in the evenings.
Saturday morning had Oliver shaking Harry awake to get ready for the Quidditch match.
“You don’t have to come if you want to go visit Ginny,” Harry told Ron as he fixed his robes and grabbed his broom. “I completely understand, mate, honest.”
“I know,” Ron smiled. “I saw her yesterday and she told me she’d be really upset if I didn’t go see it so I could give her the play-by-play of what happened.”
Harry smiled back. Ginny had only been in the hospital wing for a few days now but she was already recovering. Harry and Hermione had gone to visit– she’d turned very red at first– and she was very fun to talk to. She was also currently the reigning champion at Gobstones.
“Okay,” Harry said as he walked out. “See you there!”
At eleven o’ clock, most of the school made their way down to the Quidditch pitch to see the first game of the season. Oliver gave one of his famous pep-talks– and really, they should be famous as they were quite good– before they set out for the field. As soon as Madame Hooch blew her whistle, Harry shot into the air, looking for the snitch.
“Alright there, Scarhead?” Draco taunted from below, before shooting away as though to show off the speed of his broom. Harry didn’t have a moment to reply, because a bludger pelted right for him. He narrowly dodged it, feeling the wind as it whizzed past his arm.
“Careful there, Harry!” George called as he raced past. He whacked the bludger hard towards Adrian Pucey, but it changed directions and swung right back to Harry. Both Adrian and George seemed very shocked at this turn of events.
Harry dove to avoid the bludger but it trailed after him, hot on the bristles of his broom. Around and around the pitch he flew, but no matter what maneuvers or how many beaters hit the bludger, it kept chasing him.
“Are you aware there’s a bludger coming for your blood, Potter?” Draco asked, sidling up near him and peering over his shoulder at the practical-missile.
“Really?” Harry yelled over the wind. “Hadn’t clocked with me, no!”
Draco snickered. He looked back as Fred hit it and it zoomed back. Draco furrowed his brow.
“Wow it’s really after you.”
“I noticed!”
Madame Hooch, apparently being informed of the bludger, blew her whistle. The rest of the teams landed, but when Harry tried the bludger did not stop, so he had to keep flying. The bludger, an apparently bloodthirsty thing, seemed to speed up, the wind whistling over it like a bullet.
WHAM
“PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!”
The bludger was stunned just as it smashed into Harry’s arm, sending him careening to the ground. Immediately, the Gryffindor Quidditch team swarmed him, helping him up and grabbing his broom, all asking if he was alright and what was broken.
“Here, coming through, excuse me,” came the clear voice of Professor Jackson. The students parted to let him get at Harry. Professor Jackson took one look and winced.
“Oooo, yeah, that’s definitely broken,” he hissed through his teeth. He smiled at harry. “Not to worry, though! Madame Pomphrey’ll probably have you fixed up in a day or so. Still..”
He said something in a language Harry didn’t recognize, and a splint appeared snugly around Harry’s arm.
“Alright, let’s get you to the hospital wing. Talk about a poor way to kick off the season!”
Harry couldn’t help but giggle a little at that, mildly out of hysteria and agreement.
Ginny looked up from her book when he was ushered into the hospital wing. She opened her mouth– likely to ask what happened– before she caught sight of the splint and closed it, wincing.
Madame Pomphrey ended up keeping the splint on, but numbed Harry’s arm so he couldn’t feel the bone fixing. Wonderful thing, magic was.
“We’ll find out what made that bludger go wild,” Professor Chase reassured as Harry pet Mrs. O’Leary. Harry nodded and thanked her, before she and Professor Jackson left.
Turns out, Ginny was a great roommate. He laughed a lot in the hospital wing that night.
Meanwhile, Dobby– after being thoroughly chewed out by the house elves of Hogwarts– had a case built against Mr. Malfoy.