𝙰𝙽𝙶𝙴𝙻 𝙾𝙵 𝙳𝙴𝙰𝚃𝙷 | 𝙵𝚛𝚎𝚍 𝚆𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚕𝚎𝚢

𝔠𝔥𝔞𝔭𝔱𝔢𝔯 𝔦𝔵

Maria Black knew where she was as soon as she opened her eyes.

Her eyes frantically crawled over every inch of the long, damp chamber she stood in as she struggled to comprehend what had happened to her. Giant snake statutes towered above her all the way around the chamber until it reached the final statue, larger than any other one in the room, that held the face of the once-great Salazar Slytherin. The stone walls that stood around the statues stretched so far and so wide that Maria couldn't tell where it started or ended.

The Chamber of Secrets, she soon realized, was where she was currently trapped.

Maria took a step forward as she searched for an exit, but was suddenly yanked back by her wrists. Her eyes snapped down to her wrists, which locked together and attached to two chains, which were nailed down into the cold, stone ground. 

Her breaths slowly began to become uneven as the situation became more real and even more terrifying. Maria wasn't sure what was going to happen to her, but she didn't want to stick around to find out.  Her hands searched through her robes frantically until she soon came to realize that her wand was no longer on her. Whatever, or whoever, had dragged her down into the Chamber of Secrets obviously didn't want her attempting to escape.

"I'm sorry," Ginny's voice echoed throughout the chamber, startling Maria as her head snapped in the young girl's direction. Maria eyed the Weasley girl closely as she gradually made her way across the chamber to the area Maria was currently chained to.

"Ginny," Maria began slowly, uncertain of how to approach the girl. "Please, listen to me-"

"He made me do these awful things," Ginny choked as Maria yanked the chains around her wrists in a hopeless struggle to free herself.

"Please, Ginny," Maria begged, something she couldn't ever remember doing in her entire life, but she was desperate and frightened. "Just give me the key so I can get out."

"I don't know where it is," Ginny's words caused Maria's heart to plummet in her chest. "He didn't trust me with them. I'm so-"

Ginny's words were cut off as she abruptly froze and her eyes became glassy and vacant. Maria had to resist the urge to step away from the Weasley girl, unsure of what she was witnessing and what exactly was occurring before her.

"Ginny?" Maria's whisper could scarcely be heard in the dim chamber as Ginny shifted away from her and began to stumble out of the chamber, almost as if she was possessed.

As soon as Ginny was out of sight, Maria released a sound that was somewhere between a grunt and sob. She wasn't sure what she was going to do, and she honestly didn't want to wait for Ginny to return. She jerked against her chains despite knowing how futile it would be, but she wasn't just going to sit back down, waiting for someone to arrive and save her. She wasn't some damsel in distress, and she'd be damned if a man had to come and rescue her.

She yanked and pulled on the chains for several more minutes before determining she needed a different plan. Maria found herself searching through every pocket she had in her school uniform, desperate to find anything to help her escape. She cursed herself for being so organized and tidy as most of her pockets came up empty. The only things she could find was a single hair tie and a half-eaten chocolate bar, neither of which would help her escape her chains. She did, however, eat the rest of the chocolate bar as she finished checking her pockets only to find she had nothing useful on herself.

Just as everything seemed hopeless and Maria was prepared to admit defeat, she became distracted by a glint in her peripheral vision catching her attention. She ignored it at first, assuming it to be her mind playing tricks on her, but another quick glint prompted her to turn her undivided attention to the small spot on the ground where it was coming from. She shuffled forward slightly, her eyes squinted, as she struggled to catch a glimpse of what was reflecting whatever light was in the chamber. When she finally found what she was looking for, her eyes widened and relief washed across her pale face.

Laying on the ground, exactly where Ginny had been standing only a few moments before, was a petite, silver bobby pin. Maria couldn't be sure whether Ginny had dropped it there intentionally or if it was all just a happy coincidence, but she didn't really care at the moment. The bobby pin was the key to her escape and she wouldn't waste another moment pondering about how it ended up there.

"Bless you, Ginny," Maria muttered despite never being religious in her entire fourteen years of existence. She would have to remember to thank the redhead girl after she discovered a way to free Ginny from whoever was possessing her.

It didn't take Maria long to realize obtaining the bobby pin was going to be more challenging than she had previously imagined. The chains prevented her from moving too far, and Ginny hadn't exactly gotten remarkably close to Maria when she was in the chamber.

Maria found herself in every sort of position trying to grab the bobby pin for her escape. She found herself lying on her back, rolling around on the ground, sprawling out on her stomach, and every other attainable position, however, she was unsuccessful in reaching the bobby pin. With each attempt, she found her chance of escape slipping through her fingers. Every time she reached out, the bobby pin was only a few inches away from her grasp, but it was enough to deter her from her goal.

"Damn it," Maria cursed as she stretched her hand out as far as it could go in a final attempt to free herself, just barely brushing her fingertips on the tip of the bobby pin.