Killing Me Softly

Chapter Three
Grief and Guilt

"Those who are incapable of committing great crimes do not readily suspect them in others."
- Francois De La Rochefoucauld

*****

Professor Dumbledore,

I wish to inform you of your precious Golden Boy's whereabouts. I have taken him hostage, but do not fret. I do not wish to kill him. However, do not expect to see him anytime soon, if ever. I do not want anything in return for the boy, so I would appreciate it if you do not bother me with offers. He has proven himself to be quite useful to me, and I will continue to use him to benefit myself.

Yours truly,
T.M. Riddle

P.S. I do hope the basilisk has eaten well. I do not think little Ginny was satisfying for him.

Tom smirked at the last line. He wasn't sure whether Dumbledore had returned to Hogwarts or not. The Muggle-loving fool seemed to never want to be away from Hogwarts for very long no matter what happened, but it did not matter. Dumbledore could receive his message anywhere if Tom used the magical mode of sending letters.

He went outside to locate another pigeon. The bird he picked out tried desperately to break out from his grip after it saw Tom point his wand at it.

"Fine, I won't transfigure you," Tom sighed, and he pocketed his wand. He handed the note to the pigeon. "Take this to Albus Dumbledore. I trust you can locate people. After all, carrier pigeons were used to send messages at one point in history." The pigeon flew off at a fast pace. Tom watched the pigeon until it turned into a tiny speck in the clear sky.

He looked down at his watch and smiled slightly. The time was frozen at 11:42 p.m., the exact time when he had entered the diary. He determined that he should revise his watch soon to match the current time.

He turned back inside. There was one final thing he had to do before Harry woke up.

***

The usual chattering in the Great Hall was subdued. Ron Weasley couldn't concentrate on his lunch. He spooned some steak and kidney pie, but he could not put it in his mouth. He had no appetite, and there was a horrible hard lump in his throat. He felt miserable and sick whenever his mind began to wander, and no matter what he did, he could not push the thoughts away from him. What made things worse was that Neville, Seamus, and Dean kept giving him looks of sympathy.

Several seats away, Fred and George sat quietly and looked solemn, an expression that did not suit them at all. A few seats away from the twins, Percy was being comforted by the Ravenclaw Prefect Penelope Clearwater. She had just been revived from her Petrification, and when she had entered the Great Hall, she had gone immediately to speak to Percy. No doubt she had heard what had happened.

It was all my fault, Ron told himself. He should never have allowed Harry to go to the Chamber. They were only second years; they should have told a teacher other than Lockhart. But, no...Harry was the kind of fellow who would run and save anyone from danger. He was a brave friend.

Ron could never forget the day they had met. Harry had bought loads of candy in the Hogwarts Express, and after seeing that Ron had no money, he had happily shared his snacks. Ron had been shocked. Here was the boy he had grown up listening to stories about all his life. He had even imagined Harry Potter as some great, muscular, and all-powerful wizard. He was shocked to see how Harry really looked: like any other normal boy. He was still admired by many, including Ginny.

No...he would not think of Ginny. Ron tried to distract himself with his lunch, but the images of his little sister kept torturing him. He could not stop himself from remembering Ginny laughing and running into his arms, her yellow dress blowing in the summer wind. They would run and hide from Fred and George whenever they smelled mischief around the corner. Ginny would start to giggle because she could not contain her excitement. As a result, the twins would discover their hiding place, and the two would run off again. The memory made Ron almost choke. He set his spoon down.

"Ron?" came a quiet voice. He turned around to see Hermione Granger standing behind him. She must have just entered the Great Hall, and she was watching him concernedly. It took a while for Ron to find his voice.

"Hi, Hermione," he said.

"Ron, what happened?" Hermione asked. She took a seat beside him. "Where's Harry? Madam Pomfrey told me something bad had happened. Does it have something to do with the Chamber of Secrets?"

Ron nodded.

"We were too late," Ron explained. "The monster in the Chamber took Ginny. You were right. It was a basilisk. Harry and I went to rescue her, but...we failed." He took a deep breath. "Hermione...Ginny is dead."

Hermione gasped and cupped her mouth with both hands. When she removed them, she asked, "And Harry?" Her voice trembled.

"We're not sure," Ron said.

"What do you mean?"

Ron took another deep breath. "Well, you see...we kind of got separated in the Chamber," Ron said. He tried to keep his voice calm. "We heard that Ginny was taken into the Chamber after we found your note. Harry opened the entrance to the Chamber; it was in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. It's located far underneath it. On our way down, we got separated by all these rocks falling from the ceiling because Lockhart –"

"Lockhart?" Hermione said. "What was Lockhart doing with you and Harry?" Ron hesitated.

"Er...well, that's another story. I'll tell you later," Ron said hastily. "Anyway, Lockhart and I were separated from Harry. Harry told us to stay where we were, and he went into the Chamber alone while I tried clearing the tunnel as much as I could without my wand."

"But why couldn't Lockhart help?"

"Later, Hermione. Harry was gone for a while, and I couldn't hear anything that was going on at the other end. I didn't even know if he'd reached the Chamber of Secrets or not. After a long time, I heard something coming near, but it didn't sound anything like a person, so I hid.

"I grabbed Lockhart and dragged him to the far corner. We hid inside a crack in the rocks. The basilisk was huge, Hermione...but I guess all the dust and grime down there covered up our smell, because it just slithered past us.

"The basilisk left, but there was no sign of Harry anywhere. I wasn't sure what to do or if I should even leave my hiding place because there could've been more basilisks around.

"Then I heard Myrtle start screaming. She saw its tongue emerge from the entrance, and she went berserk. Her voice was so loud that I could hear it from underground. Someone had to have heard her.

"It's a good thing all of the students were safe in their dormitories. Later on I found out that Professor Flitwick was near Myrtle's bathroom when the snake got out. He heard Myrtle's screaming, and Professor Dumbledore rushed in and ordered Professor Flitwick to warn the other teachers that they were dealing with a basilisk. I don't know how he figured it out, but he's Dumbledore after all. He'd just got back from the Ministry when Harry and I were near the Chamber. Professor Flitwick quickly cast some kind of spell to alert all the teachers, and Professor Dumbledore and the other professors were able to kill it.

"Then Dumbledore went to Myrtle's bathroom and found Lockhart and me inside the tunnel. I ran to Dumbledore and told him as much as I could. He ordered an autopsy on the basilisk, and we went into the Chamber together, but we couldn't find Harry or Ginny. The only clue we had that someone had been in there was some blood and vomit. We didn't know who it belonged to.

"After we came back, I was told to go to Professor McGonagall's office. My parents were there. They had been told about Ginny being taken into the Chamber, and they'd come as fast as they could.

They told me to stay with them. Mum was beside herself. All the teachers were taken to a different room. When they came back, my brothers were with them, and Dumbledore told us that they..." he paused for a little while, choked up, "they had found Ginny's body in the basilisk. They didn't want any of the family members to see her.

They couldn't find Harry though. Dumbledore reckons Harry was taken by the enemy, but he didn't say anything more when I asked him who the enemy was. I can't see how the attacker escaped. I mean, I was right there in the Chamber, a few dozen feet away from him! How could anyone have left without me knowing?"

"I don't know," Hermione said in a small voice. Her eyes were focused on the empty plate in front of her, her mind lost in thought. "How could I have been so stupid, Ron?" she finally spoke up. Her voice cracked. "I should have realized a long time ago that the monster was a basilisk. The moment we found out that Harry was a Parselmouth, I should have known! What other explanation was there for Harry to be hearing voices that we couldn't? He's perfectly fine in the head, we know that." She covered her face with her hands. "I could have stopped everything from happening!"

Ron patted her back gently. "It isn't your fault, Hermione," he said in a quiet voice. "I was stupid too. How dumb was I to think that we could defeat the basilisk? My wand didn't even work right. We got Lockhart to come with us, but really, he's no better than us. We were right there in the staff room hiding in the cabinet when we heard the news. We should have just run out and told the teachers everything we knew. They know more spells than us; we're only second years! Sure, we went against You-Know-Who last year, but Harry would've died if Dumbledore hadn't come on time."

He was silent for several minutes, then said, "How could Harry just disappear like that?"

Hermione suddenly looked up straight ahead, a look of epiphany on her face. "I think I know how the kidnapper escaped."

"How?" Ron asked.

Hermione turned to him. "Haven't you ever wondered how the basilisk was able to go around the entire school even though some of the pipes are too small for it to fit through?" Hermione said. She jumped up from her seat and started to make her way out of the Great Hall. Ron quickly followed her.

"How did a large snake go through thin pipes?" Ron asked. He hadn't thought about this issue until Hermione had brought it up.

"A few months ago, I was reading up on spells we will be taught next year, and I came across it." She stopped at the nearest bathroom. "Wait here," she said.

Hermione went in. She came out holding a thin roll of toilet paper. She tore off some paper and dabbed her teary eyes, then she tore off the remaining paper and offered it to Ron to blow. He blew his nose.

Without saying another word, Hermione continued walking. Soon they found themselves in the library, but that was no surprise to him; Hermione always found the answer in the library. She went straight to the section on spells, and she pulled out a thick book.

"Are you going to tell me what this spell is?" Ron asked, but Hermione ignored him for the time being. She continued to scan through the book until she found what she was looking for. A few moments passed as she read the page.

Ron was starting to feel uncomfortable in the library. If Harry was around, they would have talked while Hermione did the research. A pang of guilt hit him in the stomach; if it wasn't for Harry, he would never have been Hermione's friend.

The guilt was almost too much. He didn't want to think about Harry...what he had put his best friend through...

Hermione set the book down and turned her attention to the cardboard toilet roll. She pointed her wand at the roll and said, "Dilato." The hole in the roll widened. "Do you see now?" she said to Ron. "This simple spell dilates. This how the basilisk was able to get through thin pipes and enter the halls. And I believe this is how the kidnapper left with Harry. You said that the Chamber of Secrets is located far underneath Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. There have to be pipes down there. The kidnapper must have cast the Dilation Charm on one of the pipes and escaped."

"That's why I didn't see Harry come my way," Ron said. His eyes widened as he stared at the dilated toilet roll. "The kidnapper left from inside the Chamber itself!" He turned his gaze back to Hermione. "Where did they go?"

"The only possible answer is the nearby lake," Hermione said as her voice constricted again. "What if Harry's body is in there?"

The two friends locked eyes for a second, and they dashed out of the library. The entrance hall was full of students making their way back to their common rooms; lunch was over. Unfortunately, Snape was near the oak doors, and he stopped them.

"What do you think you are doing?" he inquired threateningly. Ron spoke up.

"We have to go outside and –"

"Haven't you already caused enough damage, Weasley?" Snape said. "I thought your sister's death and Potter's disappearance would teach you to hold on tighter to your friends, or are you growing tired of Ms. Granger's presence?" Ron's jaws dropped at the insult.

"Professor, please, we must –" Hermione began, but she too was cut off.

"I don't want to hear any excuses, Granger," Snape said. "Go to your common room now, unless you do not mind Gryffindor losing fifty points."

Fifty points was unfair, Ron thought, but it was worth it if it meant saving Harry. Hermione, however, tugged on his sleeve and motioned back to the staircase.

"It's no use arguing with him," she whispered to Ron. "If Harry is still in the lake and alive then he would have found a way to save himself." Ron nodded, sensing defeat, and they turned back around.

***

When the Gryffindor students were settled down in their common room, Professor McGonagall informed them that the school, fortunately, would not be closed since the monster was captured and killed. However, the school year would be cut one week short, so the students had only a fortnight left at Hogwarts. No final exams were to be given.

A tense silence followed the announcement. None of the students made a sound for the longest time. They had just lost two of their housemates, and many did not know how to act, especially in the presence of the surviving Weasley children and Harry's dormmates.

Ron could not rest. Hermione's words were wearing off, and occasionally he would stand up from his seat near the fireplace and pace around while Hermione's attention was focused on the fireplace. She would occasionally break from her deep thought to ask him about what had happened to Lockhart, Hagrid, and anything else pertaining to what Ron knew about the Chamber. Once or twice she got up and looked out a window to see if she could find Harry near the lake. Every now and then, a student would pass by to give Ron condolences.

"I once took this picture of Ginny," Colin said in a small voice as he showed Ron a photo. He took a seat across from Ron and Hermione. His eyes were puffy, and his little hands shook slightly. Hermione moved over to look at the photo over Ron's shoulder.

Ginny and a couple other first years were smiling from their seat on the Hogwarts Express, all of them wearing an expression of both excitement and nervousness. "I took it before someone taught me how to make my photos magical," Colin continued. "I thought you might like to have it."

"Thanks," Ron said indifferently while he stared at the photo. It was nice of Colin to give him this photo, but he didn't like it. It wasn't natural. None of the people moved. Ginny didn't move...He handed the photo to Hermione.

"She was a very nice person," Colin spoke up after a while. "I used to sit next to her during Charms class, but she was always a bit shy. I don't think she really made any close friends, even though she was nice to everyone. One time I was outside and I saw her writing in her diary. I'm guessing it was a diary because when I approached her, she gasped and quickly shut the book closed."

Ron smiled sadly. "Ginny never kept a diary before," he said. "We would have known if she had a diary. There were no secrets in the Weasley family because Fred and George were always snooping around everyone's business. I guess she needed something to confide in, being a first year and all, so she got one before the school year started. I can't imagine how she would have gotten one, though."

He blushed, not wanting to the finish that thought. His family would have been too poor to buy an extra book for Ginny. Maybe she had somehow saved up for one? But how would she have done that?

Something didn't make sense; the thought also crossed Hermione's mind. She gave Ron a calculating look before turning back to Colin.

"What did the diary look like?" she asked him.

"Kind of small...black leather, I think," Colin replied. Hermione nodded slowly.

"Thank you, Colin," she said. She grabbed Ron's arm and pulled him away from the first year. She led him far from everyone in the common room, near a window.

"What's going on?" Ron asked her.

"Ron, was there ever a time when you or one of your brothers stole something from Ginny?" Hermione asked.

"Well, yeah," Ron said. "Not me, of course. Honest!" he quickly added when Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Fred and George once stole a picture she drew of a pineapple. She was only three back then, and she thought a pineapple was actually an apple that pined all day. It was the first time she had ever heard the word. Fred and George teased her about it and decided to take it in and show it to Mum and Dad. She got furious, and while we were playing outside, she snuck into their rooms and hunted for the drawing." Ron gave a little laugh at the memory. "You should have seen the mess she made! She would have made a lousy thief because the entire room was torn apart." Ron stopped talking; something had just dawned on him.

"She made a mess of things," Hermione said. "Just like what happened in Harry's room a few months ago."

"You think that was Ginny?" Ron asked.

"Who else could it have been?" Hermione said. "Colin said that Ginny had a diary, a black leather diary. What if that was Tom Riddle's diary that she owned? We already know it's no ordinary diary, and you said that she never owned a diary before. Where did she get it? Maybe she never bought the diary, but somehow found it. And isn't it a little odd that a pureblood got killed?"

"I never thought of that," Ron said. His face lighted up with a thought. "What if she was hunting for information about the attacks so she could stop them? Tom did stop the attacks, although he blamed it on the wrong person. Maybe she was trying to find out some things and that's why she got dragged into the Chamber."

Ron bit his lip. "Tom Riddle must have known stuff about the Chamber he didn't have time to tell Harry. Hey, do you think we can write to him? It's been fifty years, but he's got to remember his time at Hogwarts!"

"I don't know..." Hermione said slowly. "There is a chance that the real Tom Riddle is not out there."

"What do you mean?"

"Look at it this way, Ron. Tom captured the wrong person, but he got rewarded. A lot of fuss was made about it. What if the real attacker felt threatened and decided to curse Tom by planting him into the diary? The attacker might have done it after Tom graduated just so no one could get suspicious. He let Tom go on to his seventh year and become Head Boy, but once he was out of Hogwarts, he put the curse on him."

Ron mulled over her words for a while. "It makes sense," Ron said. "Poor Tom...what kind of spell do you think the attacker used to curse him?"

"I'm not exactly sure," Hermione said. "I only read up to fourth year level, but I am certain there is a spell that does that."

"We have to tell Dumbledore," Ron said a little urgently.

"Now?"

"Yes. Hermione, he could do with any information we give him. He has to know about Tom Riddle's diary," Ron argued.

"But Professor Snape said –" Hermione began.

"I don't care about Snape!" Ron nearly yelled. "This is about my sister and my best friend!"

Hermione nodded, and the two ran to the portrait hole uninterrupted. They ran to Dumbledore's office, but when they approached the large gargoyle statue, they were faced with a problem.

"What's the password?" Hermione asked.

"Dunno," Ron said. Hermione approached the statue.

"Hello, we must see the Headmaster at once," Hermione said to the statue. "We have information he might find useful." The gargoyle did not move.

"Weasley, Granger, what are you doing out of your common rooms?" questioned a stern voice behind them. Ron and Hermione jumped and turned around to meet Professor McGonagall.

"Please, Professor," Hermione spoke up. "We have to see Professor Dumbledore. We think we found information about the Chamber and the attacker."

Professor McGonagall studied Hermione. "Very well," she said. She whispered the password to the gargoyle statue, and she motioned to the students to follow her. Ron and Hermione ascended the spiral staircase, but when they reached the top, Professor McGonagall told them to stop. "Wait here," she ordered.

"But –" Ron began to protest.

"Professor Dumbledore has called me for an important meeting," she said. She must have felt that she was a bit too harsh with Ron because she added in a kinder voice, "I promise you that you will get your chance to speak to him when I am done." Ron nodded. Professor McGonagall went inside.

***

Albus Dumbledore had had a nightmarish day. After he had destroyed the basilisk the previous night, he had run down to the Chamber accompanied by some of his colleagues and Ron Weasley. He had told them to stay back and let him go in first just to be certain there was not another threat inside. He was glad he had gone in first, but it was not because there was another basilisk hiding there.

He had found a small black diary, and when he turned it over, he saw the name of the owner across the bottom of the diary. He instantly recognized the name, and before the others came in, the diary was buried in his pocket. Dumbledore searched around the grim Chamber for any sign of Tom Riddle, but there was no other trace of him.

Dumbledore had spent the rest of the night examining the diary closely. He performed various spells on the books, checked for any wards or protections, but he could detect nothing. He scribbled on the diary to see if anything would happen, but nothing did. However, he could feel that a magical presence used to be in there, a powerful magical presence.

He kept the diary in his office, unbeknownst to anyone. He planned to study it some more, but when he entered his office some time after lunch the next day, a pigeon greeted him from his office desk. It looked harassed and a little scared, so Dumbledore coaxed it for a while before finally taking the letter from it. He conjured up a small dish of water and seeds, and the pigeon gratefully took the offer.

Dumbledore read the letter slowly. When he was done, he put the letter down, took off his glasses, and covered his eyes with his hands. It was not Lord Voldemort's letter he was reading because the wizard would not have signed his name as "T.M. Riddle." It was a younger Tom Riddle writing.

Dumbledore lifted his face from his hands and looked at the diary before him. His body must have been inside the diary all this time. There was no other explanation for why it was in the Chamber and why there was a ghost of a magical presence inside. Ginny Weasley had somehow found the diary and had fallen into this mess.

From the letter, Riddle seemed like a perfectly functioning wizard. Dumbledore had a suspicion as to why this was so.

"Horcrux," he said under his breath. This would also explain why Lord Voldemort did not die when he tried to kill Harry Potter eleven years ago. He had split his soul, and now this soul fragment had been released into the world and had Harry in his grip.

He turned to the fireplace. Grabbing some Floo Powder, Dumbledore threw it into the fire and called out, "Minerva." Professor McGonagall was not there, so he left a note inside her office.

While he waited, he pondered Tom's letter. Whatever had happened, Tom did not want to give up Harry for any reason. Dumbledore could not determine what Tom was doing to the boy.

A knock on the door brought him back to reality. "Come in," he said.

McGonagall entered. "Albus, you wished to see me," she said. "Weasley and Granger are outside. They say they have information you might find useful."

"I will speak to them after I show you this," he said. McGonagall sensed his grave tone, and she looked worried. Without another word, Dumbledore showed her Tom's letter. He watched her as she read, her face slowly turning pale and her lips growing thinner after finishing reading each line.

She handed back the letter to him with a slightly shaky hand. "He has come back then?"

"His younger self," Dumbledore corrected. "I do not believe it is the Lord Voldemort we were faced with last year." He showed her the diary. "I believe your old schoolmate placed a part of his soul in this diary, and the soul inside has come out and escaped with Harry. All he needed was someone to give him the strength to come out of the diary." McGonagall stared at the diary.

"And I take it that it was Miss Weasley who gave him the strength?" she asked. Dumbledore nodded. McGonagall closed her eyes for a few moments before opening them again. "Should we inform the other members of the Order?"

"I think it would be wise to notify them, yes," Dumbledore said. "There is no doubt that Tom will seek to help his older self. Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger wish to speak to me?"

McGonagall nodded, and she went to retrieve them. Harry's two friends ran into the room and both exploded into explanations.

"We just learned that Ginny had Tom Riddle's diary. It's enchanted."

"And we found out how the attacker escaped with Harry!"

"Is Tom out there? We think that Tom was cursed by the real attacker and put into a diary."

"If he's not cursed, can we contact him? He can help us!"

"Tom Riddle has already sent me a letter," Dumbledore said. Ron and Hermione's faces lighted up in surprise, but the expression quickly turned to that of confusion and worry after noticing Dumbledore's grave expression. He handed the letter to Ron, and Hermione looked over his shoulder.

A tense silence filled the office as they read. When Ron was done, his facial expression had turned to that of an angered bull. Hermione's face had gone white, and tears were beginning to fill her eyes.

"Tom was the attacker? He was the one who killed my sister?" Ron spat out angrily. He turned to Hermione. "Did you see what he wrote? 'I do not think little Ginny was satisfying for him.' That filthy git! And I felt sorry for that bloody bastard!"

Hermione could not reply at first. She was crying heavily. "Wh-what did he d-do to Harry?" she asked through sobs.

"At this point, we can only speculate," Dumbledore said. Hermione shook, and McGonagall offered her a hug.

"He w-was a Prefect and Head Boy!" Hermione cried. "He was the top of his year. I thought he was good!" Hermione continued weeping. "I thought he was just misled when he framed Hagrid! I never, ever thought he would do this..."

"For many years, Tom has fooled many people," Dumbledore said gently. "Do not blame yourself for thinking he was trustworthy. However, I must urge both of you to not attempt to help Harry."

"Why not?" Ron exploded, completely forgetting his manners. "Harry is our friend! He's in trouble!"

McGonagall's lips quivered, and Dumbledore's eyes momentarily twinkled sadly as he looked at the looks of grief and guilt on Ron and Hermione's faces.

"I will deal with Tom," Dumbledore said. "He has sent me a letter, and it would be rude of me to not reply. As for you and Miss Granger, there is something I must inform you both of concerning Tom Riddle.

"Very few people know about what happened to Tom after he graduated, and it is best for you both to know this and understand why you cannot go to Harry's rescue. Harry will live, I assure you. He has, after all, defeated Tom twice before..."