It was February fourteenth, and that meant it was Valentine’s Day.

Blaise, Anja, Alex and I walked into the Great Hall together and collectively gasped.

There were pink flowers all over the walls and heart-shaped confetti was falling from the ceiling.

The whole place looked pink, and the effect was disgusting.

Especially when Lockhart stood up and everyone could see that he was wearing vivid pink robes, exactly the same colour as the flowers.

When we were all seated, he stood up and thanked the people who had sent him Valentine cards.

Then the doors to the Entrance Hall opened and a dozen dwarves wearing golden wings and carrying harps marched in.

Apparently, they were going to be delivering Valentines throughout the day.

Not at all to my surprise, I didn’t get even one Valentine.

Neither did Blaise.

We had just gone to class after lunch when a dwarf burst into the classroom.

“Valentine’s Card for…Anja Pansé! Anja Pansé!” he shouted.

Anja waved to indicate that she was Anja, and the dwarf came over to her.

She read the card and her face grew redder and redder until she smiled and put the card into her bag. The dwarf sauntered off.

“What did it say?” I hissed, but she just shook her head and turned away.

“Girls! I’ll thank you to pay attention in my classes!” Father said, walking over to us.

I figured he was in a bad mood because of it being Valentine’s Day.

“Sorry, Father,” Anja and I said together, which got us a few stares.

After class was finished, Blaise asked me, “What did Anja’s card say? I guess it’s from Alex…”

I shook my head. “No idea. She wouldn’t tell me.”

Blaise sighed and then a mischievous look spread over his face. “Guess we’ll just have to find out for ourselves.”

I grinned, nodding.

I was able to relax this term because there had been no attacks – yet.

I was hoping that Ginny had thrown away the diary and wouldn’t go searching for it again.

We were heading upstairs to Charms when we saw a dwarf sitting on Harry Potter’s ankles. “Right,” he said, “here is your singing Valentine:

‘His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad,

His hair is as dark as a blackboard,

I wish he was mine, he’s really divine,

The hero who conquered the Dark Lord.’”

Ginny, who was lined up outside another classroom, had gone bright red, so I guessed that this Valentine was from her.

Harry’s bag had split open and he was trying to fix it.

Draco picked a diary off the ground and opened it, saying something about reading Harry’s diary.

With a start, I recognised what it was – Tom Riddle’s diary.

How did Harry get hold of it?

Clearly, he had no idea what it could do.

“Expelliarmus!” Harry shouted, and Tom Riddle’s diary flew out of Draco’s hands.

Ron caught it and then, together, Slytherin and Gryffindor went into Charms.

The rest of the lesson passed uneventfully and then we were released.

***

In the Easter holidays, all the second-years were given a list of subjects that we could take next year. The subjects were: Arithmancy, Muggle Studies, Study of Ancient Runes, Divination and Care of Magical Creatures.

Blaise chose Divination and Care of Magical Creatures and Anja chose Divination and Study of Ancient Runes.

I couldn’t decide, so I just ticked all of them, hoping it would work out.

***

Later that term, it was the last Quidditch match of the season: Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff.

I wasn’t supporting any team in particular, but quite a few Slytherins who hated Gryffindor on the whole, including Draco Malfoy and his gang, were supporting Hufflepuff.

It was breakfast-time when I heard the voice calling me to the Chamber of Secrets.

Blaise and Anja, who both thought that the Chamber was closed for good, were horrified.

I was just confused.

How had Tom Riddle gotten back there?

Had Ginny taken the diary back from Harry? Or had Harry been possessed instead?

I went to the Chamber, anyway. The usual happened – except this time it was my turn to release the basilisk and have it attack two people.

There was a great likelihood that Hermione Granger was going to get either Petrified or killed. After all, there weren’t that many Muggle-borns left in the school.

Some Muggle-born students had been brought home by their parents already. A Slytherin student in the year above us, Rye Hunt, had been taken home even though she wasn’t a Muggle-born.

Anyway, I released the monster, feeling even guiltier than before.

“Harry Potter found the diary,” I told Tom-Ginny suddenly. “Did you know?”

She nodded. “He wrote to me in it, but then Ginny Weasley here took it back off him.”

He didn’t sound too pleased about it, either.

“So, I’ll go now? See who the victims are?” I asked.

Tom-Ginny nodded and motioned for me to go.

Assuming that everyone would be at the Quidditch match, I headed that way, but I found a crowd of people coming back from the match.

Had it finished already?

Luckily, Anja was near the front of the crowd and so when they passed me, she grabbed my arm and pulled me into the crowd. “What happened?” she asked in a low undertone.

Quickly, I told her that it had been a double attack.

She nodded, looking grave. “McGonagall called off the match. Lavender says that Ron told her that a Ravenclaw fifth-year and Hermione Granger were the ones Petrified.”

I felt sick.

I had attacked Hermione Granger?

I hadn’t meant to, of course, but it was still a shock to think that it was my fault she was lying Petrified in the hospital wing.

When we got back to the Common Room, everyone was either looking pleased about the attacks – the ‘Mudblood-haters’ – or terrified.

I wasn’t scared for myself. The monster would never attack a Slytherin, let alone Slytherin’s Heir.

But who knew what poor Muggle-born would be next?

At least Dumbledore was here. Considering that he was the greatest wizard ever, I doubted that Tom Riddle would actually do anything other than Petrify people.

But if Dumbledore was gone, there would be killings, I was certain of it.

Luckily for Hogwarts, Dumbledore would never leave, at least until the attacks had ceased.

Would he?