March
The next morning Harry sent a note with Hedwig to the Headmaster, asking to speak with him as soon as possible. Harry and Ginny watched the Head table as Hedwig delivered the note to Dumbledore. He read the note and motioned them to go to his office as he stood. Harry and Ginny nodded as they rose from the table. They climbed the stairs, hand in hand, to the Headmaster's office.
The stone gargoyle was already off to the side, revealing the spiral staircase to the Head office. Hugging each other as they rode the moving stairs up to the office, Harry had a feeling the year was going to get worse somehow. As they reached the top of the stairs, Harry reached to knock, but the door swung open before he could. Dumbledore stood behind his desk, motioning them in. After they had entered the door closed behind them.
"What can I do for you, Mr. Potter, Ms. Weasley?" Dumbledore said motioning to two chairs in front of his desk. They settled on the chairs, but still held the other's hand firmly.
"Tom Riddle was or is Voldemort," Harry stated. Dumbledore looked surprised at the statement.
"I see you have your mother's keen mind, Harry," he said after a minute. "Yes, Tom Riddle did indeed become known as Lord Voldemort." A sad look crossed his face. "I had the unfortunate pleasure of teaching him while he was here at Hogwarts."
"He opened the Chamber of Secrets fifty years ago, not Hagrid," Ginny said fiercely. "He framed Hagrid. The monster is some kind of snake."
"I know Tom framed Hagrid. That's why Hagrid works here," Dumbledore said gently. "I could sense Tom was hiding something after one of the students was killed back then. But how, may I ask do you know that the creature is some kind of snake?"
"Before we have found each victim, I've heard a voice in the walls," Harry said. "I'm a Parselmouth."
"Ah! I see," the Headmaster nodded.
"We think, or at least I do, that Demzela Robbins has the diary," Ginny said. She and Harry had discussed that the night before but were not in complete agreement about it.
"I see," Dumbledore said, looking thoughtful. He nodded. "Please watch your classmate, Ms. Weasley. We cannot do anything without proof. Also, watch your other classmates, both of you, for any odd behavior. At this juncture we can only wait and observe. Come to me if we find anything amiss with anyone, especially Ms. Robbins."
"Yes, Professor," they said in unison. They smiled as they looked at each other. Dumbledore chuckled as he dismissed them. He watched as the young couple left his office. He leaned back in his chair, staring at the portrait of the Headmaster that was before him. "How could we have been so wrong about Tom Riddle, Armando?"
"Sadly, I do not know, Albus," Armando Dippet answered with a sorrowful look and tone to his voice.
The rest of the month of March was largely uneventful. Seamus Finnigan displayed his Irish pride on Saint Patrick's Day even though it was the day of the Quidditch match between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. It was a tight match; the Chasers were very evenly matched and both Keepers were on top of their games that day. Fred and George were, by far the better Beaters, but Ravenclaws Chasers were up to the challenge. It was up to Harry to catch the Snitch before Ravenclaw's Seeker, a pretty Asian Scot named Cho Chang.
As Harry looked over the pitch, he could feel a spike of jealous anger rise in him. He glanced over at the Gryffindor stands, seeing Ginny looking at him with a blazing look that let him know he was going to be in for a verbal assault if he thought Cho was pretty again. As he looked at Ginny he spotted the Snitch just below the Gryffindor stands. Glancing back at Cho to make sure she wasn't close to him, Harry shot his broom over to the Snitch. After he grabbed it and raised it up for Madam Hootch to see, Harry floated his broom up to the edge of the rail. Ginny was waiting for him there, with a smile on her face.
