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"Yes, but you won't hear any of it until after you get some sleep. You'll be no good to anyone falling over because you've neglected to rest." Susan said, looking harshly at him. "Trust me, I know what you feel like right now. Get a good night's sleep and we'll talk about it in the morning."
"I… I guess that's for the best." Harry said, looking as everyone simply nodded their heads toward him.
"I'll walk him to the dorm, then I'll come back and we'll compile all of our notes. I found something when I visited Hermione and Luna, seems they had been on to something when they were attacked." Padma said.
Hermione and Luna. Harry hadn't even visited them since the first time, he'd been too busy on his revenge quest that he had neglected to even see them. Some boyfriend he was.
Harry stayed silent as Padma led him back to the Ravenclaw common room, and barely managed a goodbye as he stumbled up the stairs and into his bed.
Sleep held little but nightmares for Harry, visions of snakes eating all of his friends being played out for him in his mind. First were Luna and Hermione, studying in the library as the table they were sitting at uncoiled into a large serpent, piercing them with it's fangs before swallowing them. Next were Susan and Hannah, watching a Quidditch game as all the broomsticks formed into a snake, flying at them and swallowing them whole. Tracey and Daphne got their turn as they walked into the dungeons towards their House and were swallowed by the corridor. Padma and Parvati were consumed in the great hall, the Head table transforming into a sinister serpent and crushing them with its tail before swallowing them. Neville and Lavender were eaten in the greenhouses, where the Devil's Snare merged into a single giant serpent, swallowing them whole.
Harry woke up with a start, but realized quickly that his nightmare had been just that, a nightmare. Nothing more. Getting up, he still didn't feel truly rested, but definitely felt better than he did before he lied down last night. Dressing himself and grabbing his wand. Harry made his way to the Ravenclaw common room. Padma was there to greet him.
"Hello Harry. I hope you slept well. Let's head to the club room. We have some leads I'd like to tell you about." Padma said, grabbing his hand and leading him to the Sphinx Club room.
Arriving in the Sphinx Club room, he found the Gryffindor trio and the pair of Slytherins already present, leaving only the Hufflepuffs currently unaccounted for.
"I wonder where Susan and Hannah are? They normally beat us here." Padma said, moving to sit on one of the couches.
"You're right. It's a bit strange for them to be the last to arrive." Daphne said, looking around. "You don't think…"
"Let's not put that in the air. For now, we'll assume they overslept, or were held up in their common room. Both likely and less scary answers." Parvati said, leaning back into the couch.
At that moment, Hannah burst through the door. Her eyes darted across the room, panickedly looking for something. "Have you guys seen Susan?" She asked, her tone full of concern.
"No, we thought she would be with you." Daphne said, looking worriedly at her. "Was she not in bed this morning?"
"Not when I woke up, its not uncommon for her to beat me up to get to the showers, but I haven't seen her all morning." Hannah said, worry becoming more evident in her voice.
"Let's go find her. Everyone pair up and search a part of the castle. Keep those mirrors we got on you. Can't be too careful." Harry said, taking charge of the situation.
Hannah unsurprisingly grabbed Neville and said they would search the second floor. Daphne and Tracey said they would take the dungeons. Lavender and Parvati were going to check the fourth floor. This left Padma and Harry to take the first floor, with whoever finished their sweep first taking the third. They all split up, looking for their friend.
Making their way to the first floor, they found it emptier than usual, which was odd. The first floor was often very crowded, with it containing the library and great hall, most students would spend a majority of their day here. Yet for the most part, it seemed quiet.
"I don't like this, where is everyone?" Harry asked rhetorically. He unfortunately got his answer soon, as he saw a large crowd gathered around a wall in one of the corridors.
"Stand back please. Please allow us to do our jobs." The stern voice of Minerva McGonagall rang through the crowd, causing most students to stand back. During a moment where the crowd was split however, Harry saw a sight he hoped he wouldn't see again. A message, written in blood, with the same handwriting of all of the other messages. "Her skeleton will lie in the chamber forever."
"How… she got rid of the diary… how is it controlling her again?" Harry asked dumbfoundedly.
"I don't know, but I don't like this at all. Let's head back to the Sphinx Club room, I'll tell you what we found out and then we'll think of a plan." Padma said, and the pair dashed off to the Sphinx Club room.
"Okay, so, we're pretty sure that Tom Riddle opened the Chamber of Secrets in the forties, and framed Hagrid for the death of Myrtle Warren right?" Padma said, starting her explanation of what they discovered.
"Yeah, that makes the most sense based on what we know. Riddle definitely had something to do with it, why does it matter though?" Harry asked, confused as to where this was going.