Harry sighed. "None of the victims looked it directly in the eyes. Mrs Norris saw its reflection in the floodwater outside Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, Colin saw it through his camera, Justin saw it through Nearly-Headless Nick, Nick's a ghost and therefore cannot die and finally, Hermione and Penelope Clearwater saw its reflection in a compact hand mirror. Sheer dumb luck, but I'll take it if it means no-one died."
Daphne was stunned. He had extrapolated the likely situations that each victim had been in and come up with a theory that fit. A suspicion made itself known to her mind.
"How much help did Granger give you before she was petrified?" she asked, her eyes narrowed as she concentrated on Harry's face.
"Technically none as she was petrified before she could tell me anything." Harry replied, "But she had ripped a page from a book that held the relevant information and when she was petrified, she had it in her clenched hand. Ron and I found it when we visited her in the Hospital Wing the same day Ginny Weasley was taken into the Chamber."
"From that you deduced your hypothesis on how all the victims were petrified rather than killed." Daphne finished, "Then the Weasley girl was taken into the Chamber. So you did…what, exactly?"
"That, I am afraid, is not something I'd like to talk about with an acquaintance, especially in such a public place." Harry replied as he snapped the large book closed, "On that note, I should go. I have someone to find."
Daphne eyed the black-haired boy as he rolled up the parchment he had copied the varied spells onto and tucked it into his robes before returning the book to the nearby desk and bid her goodbye politely.
'Harry James Potter…an interesting boy.' Daphne thought with a small smile. Then a familiar blinding headache rose up, staggering her with its intensity.
"Of all the times…Dammit!" Daphne hissed. The pain continued for a while before fading. As it did, Daphne Greengrass' face smoothed into a haughty, imperious façade that discouraged anyone approaching her and she had an air about her that suggested that anyone who didapproach her would be hexed if they tried.
Striding forwards like royalty, the Ice Queen of Slytherin swept from the Library towards her own common room, no trace of her former self evident to the onlookers.
HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP
Half an hour later…
Entrance Hall
"Where in Merlin's name is she?" Harry muttered to himself. He had just spent the last half hour looking high and low for Ginny, with absolutely no success. Ordinarily he would as Ron for help, but he knew that his friend was very lax with his sister's whereabouts, despite the recent scare he had with her being taken into the Chamber.
'Besides, he seems to think that his mother can just wave her wand and make any residual effects from the last year vanish.' Harry though sourly. He liked Ron as a friend and knew he could be very smart when he wanted to be, but he was very short sighted when it came to emotional matters.
What Ginny had been through was not going to just go away with a kiss and a cuddle from Molly Weasley. He had seen a large amount of self-inflicted guilt in Ginny's eyes whenever he had seen her in the week or so since the Chamber Incident and knew that she was blaming herself for what she had done under the influence of the diary.
Granted, he would feel just as guilty as she evidently did if their positions were reversed, possibly even more so, but that was entirely beside the point. Actually, because he understood how guilty she was feeling, he was the best person to talk to.
Spotting the Weasley Twins plotting in a corner, made Harry feel slightly relieved and a little apprehensive at what scheme the two of them were cooking up now.
"Gred! Forge!" he called out to them, calling them by the muddled up versions of their names that they frequently called each other.
"Ah, Harrykins!" one replied, grinning cheekily at him.
"To what do we owe the honour, oh mighty slayer of serpents?" the other twin asked, grinning in a mirror image of his brother.
"You two are really creepy when you 'twin-speak' like that, you know that?" Harry said with a headshake, "Listen, I'm looking for Ginny. Got any idea where she's disappeared to?"
"And why, may we ask-" one twin started.
"-do you want to see our darling little sister?" the other finished.
Harry sighed impatiently. "Not out in the open like this." he said, jerking his head towards the Grand Staircase.
The twins followed him until they found an empty classroom a couple of floors up. After they closed the door and inundated it with Silencing Charms, Notice-Me-Not Charms and a couple of nasty Trap Jinxes, they turned to Harry, an expectant look on their faces.
"Right. So…you both know how Ginny was possessed by the diary, right?" Harry began. Their parents had told them when they pulled the twins and Percy out of the impromptu feast that had been thrown the night that Harry and Ron had descended into the Chamber.
"Yup." one twin said.
"We should have paid more attention to her." the other one said remorsefully, "First time I've ever felt bad about being outdone by Percy, that git."
"Uh-huh." Harry said, mentally rolling his eyes at the sibling rivalry between Mr 'rules-are-the-life of-me-Percy' and the Twins, who just didn't give a damn, "Well, haven't you noticed that she's feeling guilty? About what she did while under the influence of the diary?"
She has." Twin B -who Harry tentatively labelled as George- said, "Been right gloomy she has."
"Not even pranking that git Malfoy and half of Slytherin has raised her spirits." Twin A added, "Think we should try again?"
"OI!" Harry bellowed before the two brothers could be caught up in prank planning again.
"Look, I need to speak to her, to try and reduce the guilt she's feeling." Harry said more calmly, once the twins returned their attention to him, "I'm probably the best person she can talk to about this."
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