Sirius Black daughter - Athena Black (Book 2)

Six

"I always knew Salazar Slytherin was a twisted old loony," Ron told them as they fought their way through the teeming corridors at the end of the lesson to drop off their bags before dinner. "But I never knew he started all this pure-blood stuff. I wouldn't be in his House if you paid me. Honestly, if the Sorting Hat had tried to put me in Slytherin, I'd've got the train straight back home. ..."

Hermione nodded fervently, but Harry didn't say anything.

"I wouldn't mind being in Slytherin." Athena said. 

As they were shunted along in the throng, Colin Creevey went past.

As she spoke, they turned a corner and found themselves at the end of the very corridor where the attack had happened. They stopped and looked. The scene was just as it had been that night, except that there was no stiff cat hanging from the torch bracket,and an empty chair stood against the wall bearing the message "The Chamber of Secrets Has Been Opened."

"That's where Filch has been keeping guard," Ron muttered.

They looked at each other. The corridor was deserted.

"Can't hurt to have a poke around," said Harry,dropping his bag and getting to his hands and knees so that he could crawl along, searching for clues.

"Scorch marks!" he said.

"Here — and here —"

"Come and look at this!" said Athena.

"This is funny. ..."Harry got up and crossed to the window next to the message on the wall.

Athena was pointing at the top most pane, where around twenty spiders were scuttling, apparently fighting to get through a small crack. A long, silvery thread was dangling like a rope,as though they had all climbed it in their hurry to get outside.

"Have you ever seen spiders act like that?" said Hermione wonderingly.

"No," said Harry, "have you, Ron? Ron?" He looked over his shoulder. Ron was standing well back and seemed to be fighting the impulse to run.

"What's up?" said Harry.

"I — don't — like — spiders," said Ron tensely.

"I never knew that," said Hermione, looking at Ron in surprise. "You've used spiders in Potions loads of times. ..."

"I don't mind them dead," said Ron, who was carefully looking anywhere but at the window. "I just don't like the way they move. ..." Hermione giggled. "It's not funny," said Ron, fiercely. "If you must know,when I was three, Fred turned my — my teddy bear into a great big filthy spider because I broke his toy broomstick. ... You wouldn't like them either if you'd been holding your bear and suddenly it had too many legs and ..."He broke off, shuddering.

Hermione was obviously still trying not to laugh.

"Remember all that water on the floor? Where did that come from? Someone's mopped it up." Harry said.

"It was about here," said Ron, recovering himself to walk a few paces past Filch's chair and pointing.

"Level with this door." He reached for the brass doorknob but suddenly withdrew his hand as though he'd been burned.

"What's the matter?" said Harry.

"Can't go in there," said Ron gruffly. "That's a girls'toilet."

"Oh, Ron, there won't be anyone in there," said Hermione, standing up and coming over. "That's Moaning Myrtle's place. Come on, let's have a look." And ignoring the large OUT OF ORDER sign, she opened the door.

Athena had never been in this toilet before. It was the gloomiest, most depressing bathroom Athena had ever set foot in. Under a large, cracked, andspotted mirror were a row of chipped sinks. The floorwas damp and reflected the dull light given off by thestubs of a few candles, burning low in their holders; the wooden doors to the stalls were flaking andscratched and one of them was dangling off itshinges.

The Hermione and Harry tried asking Myrtle about the attack. Well they didn't get the answer they intended to get; not before a few minutes of hearing Myrtle sob.

Harry had barely closed the door on Myrtle's gurgling sobs when a loud voice made all three of them jump. 

"RON!"Percy Weasley had stopped dead at the head of the stairs, prefect badge agleam, an expression of complete shock on his face."That's a girls' bathroom!" he gasped. "What were you— ?" 

"Just having a look around," Ron shrugged. "Clues, you know —"  

Percy swelled in a manner that reminded Athena forcefully of Mrs. Weasley. "Get — away — from — there —" Percy said, striding toward them and starting to bustle them along, flapping his arms. "Don't you care what this looks like? Coming back here while everyone's at dinner —" 

"Why shouldn't we be here?" said Athena hotly, glaring at Percy. "Listen, we never laid a finger on that cat!" 

"That's what I told Ginny," said Percy fiercely, clearly ignoring Athena "but she still seems to think you're going to be expelled,I've never seen her so upset, crying her eyes out, you might think of her, all the first years are thoroughly over excited by this business —" 

"You don't care about Ginny," said Ron, whose ears were now reddening. "You're just worried I'm going to mess up your chances of being Head Boy —" 

"Five points from Gryffindor!" Percy said tersely, fingering his prefect badge. "And I hope it teaches you a lesson! No more detective work, or I'll write to Mum!" And he strode off, the back of his neck as red as Ron's ears. 

The four chose seats as far as possible from Percy in the common room that night. Ron was still in a very bad temper and kept blotting his Charms homework. When he reached absently for his wand to remove the smudges, it ignited the parchment. Fuming almost as much as his homework, Ron slammed The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 shut. To Athena's surprise, Hermione followed suit.

"Who can it be, though?" she said in a quiet voice, as though continuing a conversation they had just been having. "Who'd want to frighten all the Squibs and Muggle-borns out of Hogwarts?" 

"Let's think," said Ron in mock puzzlement. "Who do we know who thinks Muggle-borns are scum?" 

He looked at Hermione. Hermione looked back, unconvinced. 

"If you're talking about Malfoy —" 

"Of course I am!" said Ron. "You heard him — ' You'llbe next, Mudbloods!' — come on, you've only got to look at his foul rat face to know it's him —" 

"Malfoy, the Heir of Slytherin?" said Hermione skeptically. 

"Look at his family," said Harry, closing his books, too. "The whole lot of them have been in Slytherin; he's always boasting about it. They could easily be Slytherin's descendants. His father's definitely evil enough." 

"They could've had the key to the Chamber of Secrets for centuries!" said Ron. "Handing it down, father to son. ..." 

"Well," said Hermione cautiously, "I suppose it'spossible. ..."

"I'm going to bed." Athena said unable to focus.

She got up and headed to her dorm. She was friends with Draco and knew him well to. She can swear that it wasn't Draco who opened the Chamber of Secrets. He did think that muggle-borns were scum but he wouldn't go that far, would he?

With all these running through her mind, Athena went to bed.

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A/N : 

I know this chapter is a bit short. Well I am going back to India so I was in a hurry. I won't be updating for a month. I will try my best to anyways.

So yeah....