Courage

-24-

I haven't done anything wrong though.

Oh, yes, you have. You just aren't aware of it.

What are you talking about, Tom?

Let me show you.

The pages of the diary began to blow as though they were caught in a breeze. It stopped on a day marked a few months ago. The small square holding the date showed a minuscule image. Drawn by nothing but curiosity, Layla pressed her eye against the moving image. It felt as though she was tilting forwards as the image expanded. She then had the sudden experience of falling headfirst through the opening and into the pages of the diary as it expanded into a whirl of colour and shadow.

"What's happening?" Layla asked no one in particular, hoping that perhaps Tom would hear her.

It wasn't long before Layla recognised where she was. She stood in the middle of the second floor corridor, right at the top of the stairs. The ground was covered in water; obviously someone had upset Moaning Myrtle. Again.

Layla heard the sound of meowing coming further down the corridor. She turned to face the noise and saw the approaching Mrs Norris. Layla found that curious, as the cat was supposed to have been petrified back in October.

Mrs Norris, who'd been walking away from the girls' bathroom, suddenly turned around and hissed. That was when Layla saw something that truly startled her.

She saw herself, clutching the diary in one hand and a dead rooster in the other. However, the other Layla did not look quite right, almost as if she was sleepwalking.

The other Layla opened her mouth and began to speak in... parseltongue?

There was a swishing, sloshing sound as if something was moving against the wet floor, without lifting their feet.

A large snake creature slithered around the corner. Mrs Norris immediately started to run away from the beast, which pursued. Unfortunately for the scrawny cat, the snake's speed was far superior.

The large monster soon caught up to Mrs Norris. But suddenly, just as the snake reared overhead, the cat froze before falling sideways into the wet ground.

The other Layla spoke once more in Parseltongue and the snake slithered back the way it came, disappearing around the corner. The other Layla approached the fallen cat, picking it up by its stiff tail and hanging it on the wall. She then wet her hands with the blood of the dead rooster she had brought with her to the scene and began to write the message that had been burnt into the minds of all of the students over the past months.

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS
HAS BEEN OPENED.
ENEMIES OF THE HEIR,
BEWARE.

Layla stared, not believing her eyes. Somehow, Tom was manipulating her. Soon, the other Layla left the scene, bringing the dead rooster with her. Layla followed her doppelgänger as she made her way through the corridor, heading towards the bathroom.

It was during this time that Layla noticed a quiet hissing. Her only logical thought was that it was the snake, but she didn't understand how it could be, as the noise was emanating from the walls.

The other Layla walked through the door into the bathroom. Layla was about to follow when, to her great surprise, Harry ran through her swiftly, followed by Ron and Hermione.

Layla changed her course and followed her friends. They soon stopped after turning the corner.

"Harry, what way that all about?" asked Ron, wiping sweat off his brow. They had evidently run a long way as all of them were panting heavily.