The next morning after breakfast, Ron, Harry and Blake met outside the Great Hall.
"You bloody did it!" Ron whisper-shouted to Blake, raising his hand for a high five.
"Couldn't have done it without your distraction, Ron," Blake smiled. "But we need to act now. I don't suppose you managed to get any information out of Ginny?"
"Actually, he did," Harry beamed. "Tell him, Ron!"
"Well, I didn't really do anything," Ron said, his face pink, "but Fred and George were teasing Ginny - y'know, trying to lift her spirits - and they brought up the diary. And Ginny looked like she was about to shrivel up and explode! And so I asked her, somewhat casually, if she even wrote in the diary - and she was so, like, adamant that she didn't. I know when Gin's lying - and I'm telling you, she was lying!"
"That's great!" Blake grinned. "You probably have to write in the diary to get possessed then - otherwise, plenty of people would've been possessed before it."
"And that's not all," Ron continued excitedly. "Somehow, we kept on talking about the diary - poor Ginny looked as if she would drop dead any second - and Fred asked her where she'd even gotten it from, and she said she found it in one of the books Mum got her!"
"So it was in your home?" Blake asked, frowning.
"No, no! Mum bought Ginny a bunch of new books - Charlie's and Bill's went to Fred and George, but Fred burnt his, so I got George's, and Ginny needed new ones. So-"
"You're saying someone planted the diary in the book at Diagon Alley?"
"And not just anyone," Harry said grimly. "It was Lucius Malfoy - I was there when it happened. He picked up Ginny's textbook. At some point, he must've slipped it in."
Blake was silent for a second, before he spoke in a low tone.
"And it makes perfect sense too. Dark Arts for one, but also politically. Malfoy hates Muggles and muggleborns - Ron, your Dad is the opposite, right? If Ginny was found out to be the reason behind the murders or petrifications of muggleborn students, it would ruin his career. It's all perfectly convenient - Dumbledore fired, Hagrid in Azkaban, Mr Weasley ruined, and muggleborns dead or scared out of the school."
All three were silent for a while.
"So, what's the plan now?" Harry asked.
"Well, thanks to Ron and the Weasley brothers' questioning, we know that the diary probably needs to be written in for Riddle to be able to possess someone. That means we can steal the diary from her, and then confront her about it."
"But how can we steal the diary?" Ron asked. "Boys can't go into girls' rooms!"
Blake grinned.
"Don't worry. I've got a work-around for that. Just get Ginny after dinner tonight and meet me here. I'll have the diary."
/
"One Basilisk fang," Blake told Greengrass, holding up the curved object in his hand.
"I take it the beast's dead then?" she asked, eyeing the fang with interest.
"No, Greengrass, I jumped into its mouth, grabbed the fang then ran away," Blake said, rolling his eyes.
"You're remarkably sassy for a male."
"Shut up. Anyway, payment?"
"Here," she said, handing him a check. 5,000 Galleons. Blake smiled to himself.
"Now, the fang?" Greengrass said impatiently.
Blake chucked the fang at her, which, to her credit, she caught well.
"Also, I want a favour."
"No."
"Huh?"
"I can't, unfortunately," Greengrass said, her nose crinkling. "I'm assuming it's got something to do with Kipler, yes? Kipler's away on business. I can't ask him to come here right now. Actually, I'm leaving relatively soon too."
"Where to?" Blake asked instinctively.
"Nowhere that concerns you," she replied smoothly. "Anyway, I'd best start packing. Goodbye."
Greengrass started on her journey back to the castle, and Blake watched her retreating figure.
Well, sh*t.
/
"What?" Harry hissed under his breath. "How come?"
They were just about to go into a Potions lesson (Ron had decided to skip this lesson) and Harry wasn't happy to hear the news.
"My plan got foiled," Blake whispered back. "I don't suppose you know any house-elves?"
Surprisingly, Harry looked thoughtful for a second.
"Actually, I do."
/
"You're kidding. A house elf broke your bones to save you?"
The Potions lesson had just started, but Blake and Harry were dragging their feet.
Harry blushed. "I never told him to…"
Blake just shook his head. "And he's the Malfoy's house elf?"
"Yeah."
"Okay - and he's loyal to you, right?"
"Well, yeah-"
"Find me immediately after this class ends," Blake said, and without waiting for a response, he called out to someone else. "Greengrass!"
The blonde girl turned around and raised an eyebrow at him, and Blake felt Harry tense beside him. What's all that about? Oh yeah - I just remembered, I need to ask him about the Invisibility Cloak. Oh well, I'll ask later.
"Could you do me - us - a favour?"
She looked at him apprehensively.
"I already told you-"
"Not that," he interrupted hastily. "D'you think you could get Malfoy to summon his house-elf instead? Preferably, like, right after this lesson?"
Greengrass looked at him weirdly.
"You owe me."
"Nah, I don't." He grinned at her, and she immediately turned away.
"I'll see."
/
Class ended relatively soon, and just like he'd expected, Greengrass was speaking to Malfoy, and they were making their way down a corridor. Blake motioned to Harry to follow them, and the pair silently stayed behind the two purebloods. Blake couldn't hear their conversation, but he could make out the gist out of it.
"My house elf's very obedient," he heard Greengrass say. That alone was enough for him to realize what type of approach she was taking with this.
"As soon as I say, body-bind Malfoy, okay?"
"What?"
"Fine!" Malfoy suddenly said loudly.
"Dobby!"
The house elf poofed into existence.
"Now!"
Not wasting a second, Harry yelled, "Petrificus Totalus!" and half a second later, Malfoy was on the ground, petrified.
Dobby shrieked, but when he saw it was Harry who had fired the spell at Malfoy, he began to lament.
"Oh, Harry Potter… attacked the rude, ungrateful, vile Malfoy boy… oh, Dobby was rude about his masters… Dobby must punish himself!"
"Dobby, stop!" Harry said frantically, as he rushed to stop Dobby hitting himself. Greengrass looked on at the scene, seemingly amused, while Blake stood over the petrified body of Malfoy.
"I bet you spent a lot of time laughing about the Heir and the Chamber, didn't you, Malfoy? You probably laughed about my brother and Hermione too, didn't you? But now, you know what it feels like to be petrified. Good f*cking riddance."
Blake turned to Dobby. This house-elf was remarkably different from Kipler. Kipler was like a gentlemanly, distinguished house-elf. He wore a suit (which Greengrass had told him her family had told him to make himself and wear) and carried himself more like a butler than a slave or servant. Dobby on the other hand, seemed ragged and malnourished, wearing only what seemed to be a piece of cloth. Blake's heart sank slightly. Abuse, he thought. Not all pureblooded families were like the Greengrasses.
"Hello, Dobby. I'm Blake. I was-"
"You - you are Blake Renshaw! Another enemy of the Malfoy boy! You are friends with Harry Potter!?"
"Uh… yes-"
Dobby started bawling again.
"Oh, how great Harry Potter is, sir! He-"
"Dobby, I've got a favour to ask you," Harry interrupted firmly.
"Of course, sir! Anything, sir!"
"I need you to go into the first year Gryffindor female students dorm room, and steal a diary belonging to someone called 'T.M. Riddle' for me."
Dobby's eyes widened comically.
"But, Harry Potter, sir-"
"Yes, Dobby, I know, the Chamber - but we already killed the monster, okay? We just need that diary."
Dobby started crying again, and Blake, despite feeling sorry for the house elf, was beginning to get annoyed.
"Harry Potter and his friends are so brave!" Harry-"
"Dobby, I'm sorry to interrupt, but will you be able to do that?"
"Of course, sir! Dobby shall do it right away!"
With that, Dobby Apparated away.
"That was quite dramatic," Greengrass remarked. Across the corridor, Malfoy groaned loudly.
"Stupefy," Blake said, pointing his wand towards Malfoy without looking at him. The groaning stopped.
"Anyway, Dobby's gonna get the diary, give it to you, and then we'll continue as planned, okay?"
"Got it," Harry confirmed, before wishing them goodbye and leaving.
"I think you owe me an explanation of what's going on, Renshaw," Greengrass said after Harry was gone.
"Okay, tomorrow," Blake promised. "There's something I have to do first."
He walked over to Malfoy yet again, who was still stunned.
"Sorry about this, Malfoy," he said with the most un-sorry smile ever.
"Oblivate!"
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