Hermione left the hospital wing, de-whiskered, tail-less, and furfree, at the beginning of February. On her first evening back in Gryffindor Tower, Harry showed her T. M. Riddle's diary and told her the story of how they had found it. 

"Oooh, it might have hidden powers," said Hermione enthusiastically, taking the diary and looking at it closely.

"If it has, it's hiding them very well," said Ron. "Maybe it's shy. I don't know why you don't chuck it, Harry."

"I wish I knew why someone did try to chuck it," said Harry. "I wouldn't mind knowing how Riddle got an award for special services to Hogwarts either."

"Could've been anything," said Ron. "Maybe he got thirty O.W.L.s or saved a teacher from the giant squid. Maybe he murdered Myrtle; that would've done everyone a favor..."

Harry and Hermione were deep in thought, the complete opposite of Ron and Y/N who just cracked jokes.

"What?" Ron asked, looking from Hermione to Harry.

"Well, the Chamber of Secrets was opened fifty years ago, wasn't it?" he said. "That's what Malfoy said."

"This is important because...?" Y/N said.

"Wake up, you two," snapped Hermione. "We know the person who opened the Chamber last time was expelled fifty years ago. We know T. M. Riddle got an award for special services to the school fifty years ago. Well, what if Riddle got his special award for catching the Heir of Slytherin? His diary would probably tell us everything — where the Chamber is, and how to open it, and what sort of creature lives in it — the person who's behind the attacks this time wouldn't want that lying around, would they?"

"That's a brilliant theory, Hermione," said Ron, "with just one tiny little flaw. There's nothing written in his diary."

But Hermione was pulling her wand out of her bag

"It might be invisible ink!" she whispered.

She tapped the diary three times and said, "Aparecium!"

Nothing happened. Undaunted, Hermione shoved her hand back into her bag and pulled out what appeared to be a bright red, oversized, revealer. 

"It's a Revealer, I got it in Diagon Alley,"

She rubbed hard on January first. Nothing happened. 

"I'm telling you, there's nothing to find in there," said Ron. "Riddle just got a diary for Christmas and couldn't be bothered filling it in."

"Seems sensible," Y/N agreed.

The next day at break, Harry headed for the trophy room to examine Riddle's special award, accompanied by an interested Hermione, a bored Y/N, and a thoroughly unconvinced Ron, who told them he'd seen enough of the trophy room to last him a lifetime. 

Riddle's burnished gold shield was tucked away in a corner cabinet. It didn't carry details of why it had been given to him 

"Good thing, too, or it'd be even bigger and I'd still be polishing it," said Ron

However, they did find Riddle's name on an old Medal for Magical Merit, and on a list of old Head Boys. 

"If he's anything like Percy, he sounds absolutely insufferable." said Y/N, Ron agreeing with him. "Prefect, Head Boy... probably top of every class —"

"You say that like it's a bad thing," said Hermione in a hurt voice.

"Ah, It's not, you've missed the whole point!" Y/N said panicked. "If he's like Percy he's insufferable."

~~~

The sun had now begun to shine weakly on Hogwarts again. Inside the castle, the mood had grown more hopeful. There had been no more attacks since those on Justin and Nearly Headless Nick, and Madam Pomfrey was pleased to report that the Mandrakes were becoming moody and secretive, meaning that they were fast leaving childhood. 

Gilderoy Lockhart seemed to think he himself had made the attacks stop. Y/N overheard him telling Professor McGonagall so while the Gryffindors were lining up for Transfiguration. "I don't think there'll be any more trouble, Minerva," he said, tapping his nose knowingly and winking. "I think the Chamber has been locked for good this time. The culprit must have known it was only a matter of time before I caught him. Rather sensible to stop now, before I came down hard on him."

"You know, what the school needs now is a morale-booster. Wash away the memories of last term! I won't say any more just now, but I think I know just the thing..."

 He tapped his nose again and strode off. 

 Lockhart's idea of a morale-booster became clear at breakfast time on February fourteenth. Y/N hadn't had much sleep because of a late-running Quidditch practice the night before, and he hurried down to the Great Hall, slightly late.

The walls were all covered with large, lurid pink flowers. Worse still, heart-shaped confetti was falling from the pale blue ceiling. Harry went over to the Gryffindor table, where Ron and Harry were sitting looking sickened, and Hermione seemed to have been overcome with giggles.

"You can't be serious," Y/N groaned as he took his seat next to Ron and Hermione. 

Lockhart, wearing lurid pink robes to match the decorations, was waving for silence. The teachers on either side of him were looking stony-faced. From where he sat, Y/N could see a muscle going in Professor McGonagall's cheek. Snape looked as though someone had just fed him a large beaker of SkeleGro. And for the first time, Y/N felt a twinge of sympathy for the Potions Master.

"Happy Valentine's Day" Lockhart shouted. "And may I thank the forty-six people who have so far sent me cards! Yes, I have taken the liberty of arranging this little surprise for you all — and it doesn't end here!"

Lockhart clapped his hands and through the doors to the entrance hall marched a dozen surly looking dwarfs. Not just any dwarfs, however. Lockhart had them all wearing golden wings and carrying harps. 

"My friendly, card-carrying cupids!" beamed Lockhart. "They will be roving around the school today delivering your valentines! And the fun doesn't stop here! I'm sure my colleagues will want to enter into the spirit of the occasion! Why not ask Professor Snape to show you how to whip up a Love Potion! And while you're at it, Professor Flitwick knows more about Entrancing Enchantments than any wizard I've ever met, the sly old dog!"

 Professor Flitwick buried his face in his hands. Snape was looking as though the first person to ask him for a Love Potion would be force-fed poison. 

"Please, Hermione, tell me you weren't one of the forty-six," said Ron as they left the Great Hall for their first lesson. Hermione suddenly became very interested in searching her bag for her schedule and didn't answer.

All day long, the dwarfs kept barging into their classes to deliver valentines, to the annoyance of the teachers, and late that afternoon as the Gryffindors were walking upstairs for Charms, one of the dwarfs caught up with Harry, Y/N, Ron, and Hermione. 

"Oy, you! 'Arry Potter!" shouted a particularly grim-looking dwarf, elbowing people out of the way to get to Harry.

Harry's face had gone beet red at the thought of being given a valentine in front of a line of first years, which happened to include Ginny Weasley, Harry tried to escape. The dwarf, however, cut his way through the crowd by kicking people's shins, and reached him before he'd gone two paces. 

"I've got a musical message to deliver to 'Arry Potter in person," he said, twanging his harp in a threatening sort of way.

"Not here," Harry hissed, trying to escape.

"Stay still!" grunted the dwarf, grabbing hold of Harry's bag and pulling him back.

"Let me go!" Harry snarled, tugging.

With a loud ripping noise, his bag split in two. His books, wand, parchment, and quill spilled onto the floor and his ink bottle smashed over everything.

Harry scrambled around, trying to pick it all up before the dwarf started singing, causing something of a holdup in the corridor. 

"What's going on here?" came the cold, drawling voice of Draco Malfoy. Harry started stuffing everything feverishly into his ripped bag.

"What's all this commotion?" said another familiar voice as Percy Weasley arrived. 

Losing his head, Harry tried to make a run for it, but the dwarf seized him around the knees and brought him crashing to the floor. 

"All right, enough is enough!" Y/N yelled, pushing the Dwarf off of Harry. "Nobody can make a fool of my friends but me!" 

Y/N pulled Harry to his feet, earning a grateful look from him.

"But that doesn't mean I don't want to hear this singing valentine." Y/N grinned evilly as the Dwarf began to sing. Harry made a mad dash for the end of the hallway, but the crowd around him made it difficult.

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.

"Off you go, off you go, the bell rang five minutes ago, off to class, now," he said, shooing some of the younger students away. "And you, Malfoy —"

Y/N, glancing over, saw Malfoy stoop and snatch up something. Leering, he showed it to Crabbe and Goyle, and Y/N realized that he'd got Riddle's diary

"Give that back," said Harry

"Wonder what Potter's written in this?" said Malfoy, who obviously hadn't noticed the year on the cover and thought he had Harry's own diary. A hush fell over the onlookers. Ginny was staring from the diary to Harry, looking terrified. 

"Hand it over, Malfoy," said Percy sternly.

"When I've had a look," said Malfoy, waving the diary tauntingly at Harry.

Percy said, "As a school prefect —" but Harry had lost his temper. He pulled out his wand and shouted, "Expelliarmus!" and just as Snape had disarmed Lockhart, so Malfoy found the diary shooting out of his hand into the air. Ron, grinning broadly, caught it. 

"Harry!" said Percy loudly. "No magic in the corridors. I'll have to report this, you know!"

Malfoy was looking furious, and as Ginny passed him to enter her classroom, he yelled spitefully after her, "I don't think Potter liked your valentine much!"

Ginny covered her face with her hands and ran into class. Snarling, Ron pulled out his wand, but Y/N and Harry held him back. "We're better off keeping house points, Ron, Harry's lost us enough as is, you'll get your chance."

Charms went off without a hitch and Harry, Y/N, Ron, and Hermione were on their down the busy corridor.

"See it wasn't all that bad, was it?" Y/N said, referring to the singing valentine. "It's like ripping off a bandage."

"What would you know?"

"Oh, I've had loads of them already, you've just got to stick them out and smile."

"Oh, you've gotten loads of letters, have you?" Hemione said, bitterly. 

"Yeah, It's quite difficult being this good looking."

"Y/N L/N?" a Dwarf asked gruffly, making Y/N jump. 

"Yeah, that's me..." Y/N said as he was delivered a message, this one was not a singing valentine much to his relief.

The letter had the neatest handwriting Y/N had ever witnessed.

You're the most brilliant wizard I've seen and I've liked you for some time now, I'd hope that you're feelings are the same.

D.G.

"D.G, huh?" said Ron, looking at the note. "Wonder who that is?"

"Dunno, but I hope she's a real looker!" Y/N grinned at the thought.  "You've got any idea who it might be, Hermione?" 

"I don't care, you figure it out." Hermione spat and stomped down the hall. 

"Blimey, what's gotten into her?"