Courage

-21-

"It was Dobby who bewitched the Bludger, not Malfoy. And it was Dobby who closed the barrier to the train early. Oh, and there's another thing. He said the Chamber of Secrets has been opened before, but he couldn't say why. He disappeared before he could say anything else."

Layla pretended like the part about the Chamber of Secrets being open again was a surprise to her, letting out a gasp of shock. She just hoped that it was believable.

"The Chamber of Secrets has been opened before?" Hermione said.

"This settles it," said Ron in a triumphant voice. "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."

"It couldn't have been Lucius who opened the chamber," said Layla, remembering that Tom said the chamber of secrets was opened fifty years ago, before Lucius was even born.

"How are you so sure?" asked Harry, glancing at Layla. Her eyes widened and she tried to think of a lie.

"Well, I... I just don't think the Malfoys are capable of petrifying muggleborns. Sure, they're a bunch of prejudiced rats, but I wouldn't say they're murderers."

"Come on, Layla, you don't always have to see the good in everyone," said Ron, and Layla just looked down at her lap, fiddling with her fingers.

"Well, we'll soon find out if it's the Malfoys or not," said Hermione, prodding leeches to the bottom of the cauldron. Layla sighed and tried to clear her mind, focusing on the Polyjuice Potion and pouring dead lacewings on top of the leeches. She wanted to know why Tom wasn't telling her who opened the Chamber of Secrets. Was it really the Malfoys? Maybe it was Lucius' father fifty years ago, and he'd told Lucius who couldn't open it, so Lucius told Draco.

Layla would just have to find out for herself as soon as the Polyjuice Potion was complete.

The news that Colin Creevey had been attacked and was now lying as though dead in the hospital wing had spread through the entire school by Monday morning. The air was suddenly thick with rumor and suspicion. The first years were now moving around the castle in tight-knit groups, as though scared they would be attacked if they ventured forth alone.

Ginny, who sat next to Colin in Charms, was distraught, but Layla felt that Fred and George were going the wrong way about cheering her up. They were taking turns covering themselves with fur or boils and jumping out at her from behind statues. They only stopped when Layla, feeling really bad for the girl she saw as a younger sister, had stepped in and scolded them, threatening that she would write to Mrs Weasley and tell her that the twins were scaring their little sister to death.

Meanwhile, hidden from the teachers, a roaring trade in talismans, amulets, and other protective devices was sweeping the school. Neville Longbottom bought a large, evil-smelling green onion, a pointed purple crystal, and a rotting newt tail before Layla had pointed out when she saw Neville in the halls that he was in no danger; he was a pure-blood, and therefore unlikely to be attacked.

"They went for Filch first," Neville said, his round face fearful. "And everyone knows I'm almost a Squib."

In the second week of December, it was Layla's birthday. She opened her presents that morning but she wasn't as excited for her birthday as she had been the year before. She felt almost lost this year. She treated her birthday as an ordinary day, nothing special... even if she was now officially a teenager. The big thirteen. Still, Layla wasn't that affected by her birthday, which confused her friends as they saw how excited she was for her birthday the year before.