chosen - harry potter

Chapter 10 - A Bunch of Gits

"Cass, wake up!"

"No."

"We've got to work on the Polyjuice Potion, and we should get an early start. Come on."

"Hermione, I'm gonna hex you," Cassia mumbled.

"Uh huh, get out of bed," she teased.

It was the day after the Quidditch match, and Harry was still in the hospital wing. As Hermione, Ron, and a sleepy Cassia, carrying an old cauldron, made their way to the girls' toilet they had decided to use as their base, they stopped after hearing Professor McGonagall in the corridor around the corner.

"It's Colin Creevey, he's been petrified, Filius," she said sadly. "And Albus believes that the Chamber has been opened."

"Oh, dear," Professor Flitwick said, sounding terrified. "What are we going to do?"

"It's up to Dumbledore, I don't quite know what can be done," her voice faded away, and their footsteps could be heard walking down the corridor.

"Wow," Cassia said when she was sure the professors were gone. "The Chamber's open."

"We'd better get going," Hermione said anxiously.

They continued down the corridor, looking around quickly for prefects or professors, and dipped into the bathroom.

Entering and locking a stall, Hermione lit a water-proof fire in the toilet. Cassie perched the cauldron over top of it.

The door of the bathroom closed loudly, and they all gasped loudly.

"It's me," Harry said, walking towards the stall. 

"Harry, you scared us," Cassia said, unlocking the stall.

"How's your arm?" Hermione asked. 

"Fine," Harry said, squeezing into the stall. 

"We'd've come to meet you, but we decided to get started on the Polyjuice Potion," Ron explained. "We've decided this is the safest place to hide it."

"Unfortunately," Cassia muttered.

"Dobby came to visit me in the middle of the night," Harry said, locking the stall behind him with difficulty. 

Harry explained quickly what Dobby had told him: including that he had sent the rogue Bludger, and that the Chamber of Secrets was not only open, but had been opened before.

"This settles it," Ron said triumphantly. "Lucius Malfoy must've opened the Chamber when he was at school here and now he's told dear old Draco how to do it. It's obvious. Wish Dobby'd told you what kind of monster's in there, though. I want to know how come nobody's noticed it sneaking around the school"

"Maybe it can make itself invisible," Hermione said, sticking leeches to the bottom of the cauldron, causing Cassia to scrunch up her face. "Or disguise itself - pretend to be a suit of armor or something - I've read about Chameleon Ghouls-"

"So Dobby stopped us from getting on the train and broke your arm," Ron said.

"He's going to kill you in the process of trying to save you," Cassia said, shaking her head.

𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧

When McGonagall did her usual round of collecting names of those staying for Christmas, the quartet all signed her list. Cassia decided to stay with her friends to further investigate Malfoy, who also decided to stay, much to Will's delight.

"You're staying again?" he asked, grinning mischievously. "Thank Merlin!"

The Polyjuice Potion was only half finished by the time the break actually rolled around, though, and the remaining ingredients had to be stolen from Snape's private stores.