Finding The Light

The Legend And The Diary (edited)

Filch kept the attack of Mrs Norris fresh in everyone's minds by pacing the spot where she had been found, as though he thought the attacker might come back. The only thing I had on my mind, was the way Ginny had reacted. It was . . . odd.

One morning on break while the other three were in the library, I wandered off to find her. She was in Myrtle's bathroom – no Myrtle in sight - with a black leather book on her lap, she was writing in it, but the words were disappearing, and new ones were flashing up.

"Ginny?"

"Oh, Belle?" she closed the book.

"Are you . . . alright?" I asked, eyeing the journal.

"Yeah-yeah," she nodded, "Just . . . you know, I really like cats."

"Yeah, er, well I better get to class," I said, "I'll see you after."

Very odd, I thought as I made my way to History of Magic. However Binns was interrupted by Hermione.

"Professor, I was wondering if you could tell us anything about the Chamber of Secrets," said Hermione in a clear voice. Everyone fell silent.

"My subject is History of Magic," he said in his dry, wheezy voice. "I deal with facts, Miss Granger, not myths and legends."

"Please, sir," I spoke up, "Don't legends always have a basis in fact?"

"Yes, one could argue that, I suppose. However, the legend of which you speak is such a very sensational, even ludicrous tale - Oh, very well," he said slowly. "Let me see . . . the Chamber of Secrets . . . You all know, of course, that Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago - the precise date is uncertain - by the four greatest witches and wizards of the age. The four school Houses are named after them: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. They built this castle together, far from prying Muggle eyes, for it was an age when magic was feared by common people, and witches and wizards suffered much persecution."

He paused, gazed blearily around the room almost as if he were annoyed we were actually paying him attention for once, and continued.

"For a few years, the founders worked in harmony together, seeking out youngsters who showed signs of magic and bringing them to the castle to be educated. But then disagreements sprang up between them. A rift began to grow between Slytherin and the others. Slytherin wished to be more selective about the students admitted to Hogwarts."

I rolled my eyes and murmured to Ron who sat beside me, "No surprise there." He snorted but tried to hid it with a cough - Binns didn't even notice.

"He believed that magical learning should be kept within all-magic families. He disliked taking students of Muggle parentage, believing them to be untrustworthy. After a while, there was a serious argument on the subject between Slytherin and Gryffindor, and Slytherin left the school."

Professor Binns paused again, pursing his lips, looking like a wrinkled old tortoise.

"Reliable historical sources tell us this much," he said. "But these honest facts have been obscured by the fanciful legend of the Chamber of Secrets. The story goes that Slytherin had built a hidden chamber in the castle, of which the other founders knew nothing. Slytherin, according to the legend, sealed the Chamber of Secrets so that none would be able to open it until his own true heir arrived at the school. The heir alone would be able to unseal the Chamber of Secrets, unleash the horror within, and use it to purge the school of all who were unworthy to study magic."

There was silence as he finished telling the story, but it wasn't the usual, sleepy silence that filled Binns's classes. There was unease in the air as everyone continued to watch him, hoping for more.