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"I'll come with you Hermione, I haven't had the chance to help on these adventures yet." Luna said, as she chased after Hermione.
The research the Ravenclaws did over the next was coming up mostly empty. While Harry and Padma had come up with a number of spells that seemed to be effective against dragons, most notably the Stupefy spell, which Harry had been practicing repeatedly, any information about the resistance levels of basilisk skin was unable to be found in any resource they had available to them. Luna and Hermione had little luck as well, with floor plans of Hogwarts not showing any passages that were large enough for a Basilisk to squeeze through without being spotted.
"I just can't believe we can't find anything, people KNOW Basilisks are real, but there's next to no information on them. I could find more information in the Muggle World on Bigfoot than this." Harry said, frustratedly throwing his head into his hands. Harry, Padma, Susan and Hannah were sitting in the Sphinx Club room, waiting for their friends to finish up their classes for the day. Hermione and Luna were currently taking their turn in the library's stacks.
"I still feel so bad that I'm responsible for all of this. Oh I wish I never wrote in that diary in the first place." Susan said, slouching down into her seat as Hannah patted her on the back.
"You aren't at fault Susan, it's whoever's diary that was that enchanted it." Harry said, also patting her on the back.
"Tom always seemed so nice though, but then… the tiredness, the feathers in my shoes, the stains on my sheets. I thought I was just clumsy." Susan said,
"Wait, Tom?" Harry asked, looking to Susan.
"Yeah, Tom Riddle was the name in the diary. Anytime I wrote he spoke to me." Susan said.
"That's the guy who Hagrid said blamed his Acromantula for the attacks the last time they happened." Padma said.
"This can't be a coincidence… was he the heir of Slytherin?" Harry asked.
"He was in Slytherin, and given what we know… it makes sense." Padma said.
"Okay, so there's our heir of Slytherin, he opened the chamber before, and let out the monster that killed Myrtle. He then framed Hagrid for it, got his award for services to the school. I guess the question is why?" Harry asked.
"Well, maybe there was something IN the chamber he wanted, and the Basilisk getting out was just a side effect?" Hannah suggested.
"Then why open it this time? Especially since it's just with his diary." Harry asked, racking his brain.
"It's not like we can ask him, I threw the diary in the lake." Susan said.
"Which is probably for the best, but still leads us stumped." Harry said.
At that moment, Professor Flitwick entered the Sphinx Club room at a quick pace. "Mr. Potter, Ms. Patil, I'm afraid I have very bad news for you. Ms. Granger, Ms. Lovegood, and Ms. Clearwater are all in the hospital wing. They have been petrified."
Harry cried out, rushing from the room.
Harry was on a mission. Immediately after he had confirmed the worst had happened to Hermione, Luna, and Penelope, he had focused. Harry wandered the halls of Hogwarts each day, only attending and doing what was required in classes, and spending every other moment simply wandering the halls, listening. This had been his routine for the past two weeks, and with May coming to a close soon, Harry was becoming more and more afraid he would be unable to find the beast before the summer started.
"Why won't this snake show itself? It can't be afraid of me, I doubt it even knows I exist." Harry said to himself.
"Probably because fate itself is stopping you from doing something as dumb as killing yourself." Padma said, revealing herself as having followed Harry. He hadn't noticed her.
"What are you doing here?" Harry asked, shocked, and somewhat harsher than he meant to.
"I'm here to stop my boyfriend from getting himself killed on some ill conceived act of revenge." Padma said, before stepping up and enveloping Harry in a hug. "I'm upset that they got petrified too. Hermione was my best friend just as much as she was yours, but I'm not out here trying to get myself killed for her."
"I can't just sit around and do nothing Padma, we know what we're looking for, and I'm equipped to find it. Dumbledore and the staff haven't done anything, so I have to do something." Harry said, looking down and resolving himself. If he didn't take the fight to this creature… who would?
"You don't even know where to start looking! You've been wandering the castle for weeks and haven't gotten anywhere. What makes you think you CAN find it?" Padma asked, looking at him with hard eyes. She was obviously very upset at him, but Harry couldn't sit idly by.
"I don't know, I just… I have to try." Harry said, his voice small at the end.
Padma gripped him tighter in a hug. "Look, I've figured out a few things about what might be happening. Daphne, Susan and I have been working on trying to catalog everything we know about the attacks, both from this time and from the forties. Let's head back to the Sphinx Club room and see if they're there. We'll go over everything and then come up with a plan. We'll tell the teachers what we know, without mentioning Susan's involvement. Then hopefully they can deal with it."
"I suppose. Let's go." Harry said, his body slumping. How long had he been this tired?
Harry and Padma walked to the Sphinx Club room, inside finding the other members all gathered. Concerned looks were present on all of their faces.
"Oh good. You found him." Daphne said, before walking over and simply hugging Harry. "We're worried sick about you, you know?"
"I know, but… I just have to do something. Padma said you had some information about the attacks?" Harry said, his voice dipping as his eyes drooped.