December 18th, 1942
Marcella was right... Tom did go ballistic when he saw that Slytherin was now in last place. He had a nice little ‘chat' with me about it today in a vacant classroom....
---
"What the bloody hell did you do?" Tom exclaimed, his hands planted firmly on his hips. His eyes were taking on an eerie glow.
"What do you mean ‘what did I do'?" she asked, her arms crossed over her chest.
"You know damn well!" he spoke abruptly. "Slytherin's in last place!"
"Right where they belong, then!"
"You did this so your stupid house could win again!"
"That's an absolute lie! Your stupid friend Murdoch sassed me, and Olive Hornby was teasing Myrtle about her glasses! You would have done the exact same thing if the shoe was on the other foot!"
"You must be very well liked among the students," he said silkily, ignoring her statement. "Saint Miriam, defender of all, squealer of the wrongdoers."
"I'm just trying to right those wrongs! It's what a Prefect does!"
"Who are you to judge what is right and what is wrong?"
"You're... you're unbelievable at times!" she exclaimed.
"Oh, am I?" he asked, his eyes glinting more dangerously now. It was then that Miriam noticed his eyes taking on a rather odd appearance.
"Your eyes... they're bleeding again!" she exclaimed, remembering back to the previous year when this had first happened.
As he had done before, he touched the corner of his eye with his finger and brought them back to look at the blood that had settled there.
"I'm frightened by what I see
But somehow I know
That there's much more to come
Immobilized by my fear
And soon to be
Blinded by tears..."
December 20th, 1942
Tom and I have been avoiding each other lately. No surprise there. I refuse to speak to someone who thinks I'm sneaky, devious, and underhanded when it comes to docking points from Slytherin. Pfft.
---
It was late that evening as Miriam sat on her bed, writing in her diary. Her eyelids were heavy, but she wasn't too tired to write. She continued scratching away in her book until her hand finally gave out and she was fast asleep.
Everything seemed so familiar to her: the darkly lit corridor, the dark room with the peculiar mirror, but this time, it all felt so much different to her. The lights in the room went out, and everything went pitch black.
"Hello?" she called out tentatively. "Is there anyone here?" Her answer was something moving about in the breeze beside her... like a cloak swishing by.... Very close by....
Tom suddenly appeared in front of her, almost as if he came out of thin air. He looked absolutely furious and malevolent, but the thing that frightened her the most about him were the tears of blood trickling from his eyes and down his face, leaving crimson trail marks over his cheeks.
"Saint Miriam!" he yelled. In the next instant, he was gone and was replaced by two red vertical slits for eyes that almost seemed to float in midair by themselves.... A high-pitched laugh began to fill the thick black air. Miriam felt the ground below her give out; it felt like she was tumbling through an icy cold breeze....
A warm sensation began warming up her face. Opening her eyes, she saw that it was daybreak and that her hand still clenched tightly onto her quill. Her diary was now resting at the base of her bed.
Picking up her book, she opened it to the page she was last on. But as she examined the page, she noticed something she was positive she did not write...
"Servatis a periculum, servatis a maleficum."
That saying... she knew she heard it before, but where? As she sat on her bed, she racked her brain trying to remember where she heard it. A memory suddenly sprang in her head... Professor Sanderson's class from her third year! Miriam remembered that she had blacked out that day in Divination and woke up, finding herself saying that phrase, and another, over and over again.
"Save us from danger, save us from evil."
January 3rd, 1943
Myrtle has been acting rather peculiar lately. Whenever I run into her at the library, she seems rather withdrawn and depressed, more so than normal for her. I happen to know that she's been having some problems with a Slytherin girl named Olive Hornby, but something inside me is telling me that there's something else troubling her, something much bigger than just teasing. Her eyes have slight bags under them, almost like she hasn't been getting enough sleep lately....
---
"Miriam, isn't that Myrtle over there?" Sophie enquired, looking up from her Potions homework to ask about a distressed girl sitting alone in the corner of the library.
"Yeah," she replied, pulling her eyes away from her essay on Cheering Charms and how to use them properly.
"Wow, she doesn't look too good," Marcella commented.
It was true; poor Myrtle looked exhausted. And, there was something strange spotting the front of her robes... something blood-red.... Miriam looked at her friends. Figuring it probably was just paint or something and not what she secretly suspected (blood), she told them so, and focused their attention back on their homework.
An hour had passed and quite suddenly caretaker Maugi came running into the library looking extremely annoyed.
"Who did this?" he shouted. Curious looks abounded in the library, while Zuzellam looked absolutely irritated.
"Do not shout in the library!"
"Somebody just defaced school property again, Madam!"
Zuzellam looked flabbergasted. "Where?"
"By the girls bathroom! Same as last time!"
At these words, the entire capacity in the library ran out to see the spectacle by the girl's restroom. Miriam and her friends were bringing up the rear of the group when the crowd of students ahead halted suddenly. They had reached the floor of the girl's restroom and looked at the wall. Dripping in what looked like smeared blood right below the first message were the words, "Beware the Heir...."
January 15th, 1943
Grindelwald strikes again.... He was reported to have killed more Muggles and wizards alike. The teachers are unsettled, obviously, by the recent events.
So far, I haven't received an answer back yet from my relatives, but I know not to expect a reply for awhile as cross-continent deliveries take a few months when using Owl Post.
---
On their way back from classes that day, the girls were tired and hungry, so they hurried up to the common room to drop off their heavy bags before leaving for the Great Hall. Halfway back, they found that the path was blocked by two teachers, Panes and Dumbledore. They were hunched over, looking down on what appeared to be a collapsed student. Dumbledore turned to look at the girls and told them they would have to take another route to the Great Hall.
"What happened?" Miriam asked, her eyes darting to and from Dumbledore, to the student on the floor.
"I'm afraid there has been another attack. This boy here was lucky to have only been petrified and nothing worse," he replied grimly.
Before they left, Miriam couldn't help but notice the large shards of glass that were on the floor by the victim.
February 6th, 1943
There has been another attack on a student, this time a seventh year Ravenclaw girl. Dumbledore has assured everyone that those affected can be brought back to life, but that it would require a difficult potion made from stewed mandrakes.
---
"That makes it two students and an owl that's been attacked," Sophie said, counting them off her fingers. "How many more attacks do you think there will be before it ends?"
"I don't know," Miriam replied glumly. She had a strong feeling that Tom was the one behind the attacks. Unfortunately, the only proof she had was that he'd been interested in the Chamber ever since his first year. Ever since the most recent attack, Miriam had been having an internal struggle on whether she should tell Dumbledore about her suspicions.
"What if it kills someone?" Marcella added.
Great, just make me feel worse for not telling anyone, Miriam thought.
True, she did wonder how long it would be before the attacks turned deadly. Surely Tom wouldn't be that cold hearted and murder someone, could he?
February 19th, 1943
A fourth attack has happened. This time it was a Gryffindor second year....
---
"I heard that Dippet is thinking of closing the school if the attacks don't stop," whispered Miriam's friend, Emily Chang as they headed to the library to do some practice O.W.L. papers that evening.
"I'm sure that those are just rumors," Miriam replied. "The culprit, I'm sure, will be caught soon. I hope."
As she said it, a horrible thought entered her head. What if the school is closed and we have to go back to Madam Westyn's?
The thought sent shivers up her spine.
March 1st, 1943
There's been another attack. Estella Tikhonov of Hufflepuff was the recent victim....
---
"Haven't you noticed that the ones being attacked aren't from Slytherin?" Sophie commented darkly in between their morning classes that day. "Me thinks something fishy is going on here."
"And the ones being attacked aren't pure-bloods either," Marcella pointed out.
"That would explain it!" Sophie exclaimed, slapping her palm to her head. "We all know the Slytherins look down upon Muggle-borns and half-bloods! And the ones who were attacked were just that!"
"Don't you remember back during our first year when you asked us about the Chamber because Tom had found out about it and was trying to open it?" Sophie added, looking squarely at Miriam.
"Tom can be a bit of a pain-in-the-ass at times, but he's no murder," Miriam replied shakily.
"Well, who else would've opened it then?" Sophie demanded.
"Well there's Carrey or Murdoch..."
"Those ignoramuses wouldn't know their own butt from a hole in the ground, nor have the intelligence to learn about it!" Sophie exclaimed. "You know bloody well that Tom is the brains of the group and the most likely suspect!"
Oooh, she's got me there....
They walked down another corridor, coming upon a group of first- and second-year Slytherins.
"Damn bunch of no-good losers! They should just be chucked out of school, all of them," Sophie muttered angrily as the Slytherins passed by them.
March 18th, 1943
Michellina the nurse promises us that the mandrake potion is approaching completion. I surely hope so.... Seeing their lifeless bodies in the infirmary is rather depressing....
---
Shoving the attacks from her mind, Miriam tried hard to concentrate on the upcoming O.W.L.s that seemed to creep closer with every waking second. She used most of her free time for cram sessions at the library. Her friends were even cramming with her.
One evening, after a particularly brain boggling session in which Miriam made them quiz one another repeatedly, they returned to the common room to find pamphlets of every shape, size, and color sitting on a table by the fireplace.
"These must have come while we were gone," Miriam remarked.
Sophie sat down and picked up a day-glow green pamphlet with purple writing. "So you want to be a Healer?" she read aloud.
"These must be for our career choices," Marcella muttered, picking up an orange brochure.
Miriam sat down next to her friends. "An exciting Ministry career is the way to go!" she said, reading from a dark-brown brochure.
"Have you thought about what you want to do after Hogwarts?" Sophie asked.
Miriam shook her head. "I don't really care, just as long it involves me getting as far away from Madam Westyn as possible!"
"This sounds interesting!" Marcella piped up. "Travel abroad, meet interesting people, break ancient curses, oh... I don't know about that," she said setting a pink brochure back down.
They continued to sit by the fire reading the different pamphlets when all of the sudden, something bristly began creeping past their ankles. Figuring it probably was just someone's cat, they ignored it until Marcella let out an ear-piercing scream, almost scaring the life out of Sophie and Miriam.
Reluctantly, they looked down and came upon a.... "SPIDER!" they shrieked.
Jumping up onto the chairs, they watched the spider come closer to them, its teeth bared. Finally, Miriam got the nerve to pull out her wand and yell "Aria Exumai," causing the creature to flee.
"What the hell was that?" Sophie yelled.
"That," Miriam panted, slowly jumping off the chair, "would be Hagrid's pet spider, Aragog!"
"I swear," Sophie breathed, her nostrils flailing, "if I see Hagrid tomorrow, I'll strangle him for keeping something like that in here!"
March 31st, 1943
I now know what Minerva went through last year when she was studying for her O.W.L.s... her brain must've felt like it was going to explode into a gelatinous goop....
---
The days until the O.W.L.s were inching closer, and the entire fifth-year class was in a state of frenzy. There were only a few short months left, and though Miriam had been studying for ages, she still didn't feel prepared.
Later that evening, she decided to sneak in a few more hours of reading in the library before turning in for the night, just as long as she made it back to the common room before 9 pm. Though she was mentally exhausted, she forced herself to stay awake.
Three quarters of an hour had passed, and she realized she had better get a move on, lest she wanted to get into trouble for wandering around at night. That wouldn't have exactly sat well as she was a Prefect and responsible for setting a good example for others.
Closing her books, she yawned and wondered how Tom was handling it. As she put the books into a neat stack on the table, someone walked into the library. Her heart began to beat quickly as she prepared herself for the yelling she thought she was going to receive. But as the figure came closer, the look on his face suggested otherwise.
"Pro - Professor Dumbledore!" she squeaked. "I'm - I'm on my way now back to the common room!"
"If I'm not mistaken, you still have time to make it back to your common room before risking trouble, but I'm here to ask you to follow me as there is something I must show you," he replied gravely.
She followed him out of the library and down a vacant hallway; she knew the path he was taking. This is the way to the infirmary.
"What I am about to show you will come as quite a shock for you," he said as he opened the infirmary's doors.
Michellina Agave and Sophie were huddled over a bed. When they saw Miriam and Dumbledore enter, they separated so she could see. What she saw nearly gave her a heart attack. Her dear friend Marcella was lying petrified on the bed, a look of surprise and shock on her face. Tears began pouring down Miriam's face as she ran over to her friend's bedside. Seeing Sophie's distraught face made her feel even worse.
"How did this happen?" she finally managed to spit out after a minute had passed. Her mouth was dry, and her tongue felt too heavy to use.
"We don't know," Michellina replied worriedly. "She was found on the third floor corridor just after eight."
As she looked upon her friend's stony face, she felt the sadness inside her swell into something else... anger - anger at her idiot brother for opening the Chamber and for causing all these attacks.
April 5th, 1943
Marcella is still in the infirmary. It seems so weird not having her here with us. Those damn mandrakes can't grow up fast enough, can they?
I hate you Tom for doing this to my friend!
---
The days that had passed since discovering Marcella as the recent victim had been very painful for Sophie and Miriam. And since that night when Dumbledore broke the news to her, Miriam had been having graphic nightmares that involved her being trapped within the Chamber of Secrets. And every time she awoke from that dream, she would find herself drenched in a cold sweat.
April 13th, 1943
I have just learned that the mandrakes won't be ready until sometime next month.... Until then, I have no desire to write in here.
May 3rd, 1943
I am once again helping Hagrid with his studies, though I don't know what good it'll do. He is but an inch from being kicked out of Hogwarts.... Somebody told Headmaster Dippet about Aragog... and well... when Dumbledore found out, he wasn't too pleased to say the least. Not to mention, the whole school now knows about Aragog. To make matters even more unmanageable, Aragog had apparently managed to escape from the common room....
Oh, and the mandrakes are finally about to be stewed.
---
Aside from the extra work of helping Hagrid with his homework, Miriam spent the better half of her time in between classes and meals in the library. She wasn't studying for O.W.L.s; instead, she was searching for information on the Chamber and its monster. And though there were times when she could only muster ten minutes in the library in between classes, she finally found what she was looking for a few nights later....
"The Basilisk, also known as the King of the Serpents, can bring instant death to anyone who meets its gaze. Its teeth create a quick-acting venom that can kill a person within a matter of minutes," she mumbled to herself, leafing through a heavy book on school myths.
"But nobody's died yet," she mused. Questions lingered in her mind, and after a moment, it hit her. Those attacked must not have looked directly at it. She wasn't sure on the exact details of how the other victims were attacked, but one boy, she remembered, had shards of broken glass by him.
Upon leaving the library with this new wealth of information, she unluckily ran into Tom, who was wearing a smug smile on his face. He stood erect before her, his hands clasped tightly behind his back.
"I should present to you my deepest sympathies over hearing the news of your dear Mudblood friend."
The blood rushed to her face. She wanted so desperately to smack him upside his idiotic head. She took a deep, calming breath and allowed the wrath that suddenly overwhelmed her to pass. If she hadn't dug her fingers into the palms of her hands, she would have found herself pummeling Tom to within every inch of his life for saying that to her face about her friend.
Miriam looked him squarely in the eyes and decided to simply ignore him and leave.