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TRANSFIGURATION CLASS WAS ordinarily one of the easier hours of the day. Valerie Grindelwald would take it as a time to clear her mind, staring blankly at whatever Professor Mcgonagall was presenting at the front from her shrouded seat at the very back of the classroom. But, today, her thoughts were racing, her heart was pulsing, and her ice blue eyes were trained on the quill she fiddled between her fingers.
All the students were on edge, and it came to no surprise, especially after the events of the night before. Their paths on the way back to their Common Rooms were interspersed by a disturbing scene which left Mrs. Norris petrified, and the wall stained with a blood-written message.
"Today, we will be transforming animals into water goblets," Professor Mcgonagall informed the class, "Like so."
The woman let her wand make three gentle taps on the bird obliviously perched on her table, and they all watched as it morphed into a beautifully oriented chalice. Mcgonagall then stepped closer to her students, "Now who would like to go first?"
This would be when Valerie would sink deeper into her seat, silently thanking Merlin for being stationed at the far-back of the room. She didn't do well with being the center of attention, but this time she paid no mind to what Ronald Weasley did as he wielded his splintered wand on an unsuspecting rodent.
"That wand needs replacing, Mr. Weasley," Mcgonagall sighed at the unsuccessful attempt. Her attention then shifted to the bushy-haired girl who raised her hand, "Yes, Ms. Granger?"
"Professor, I was wondering if you could tell us about the Chamber of Secrets."
Valerie shot up at Hermione's words as she asked the burning question on all of their minds, which would hopefully be put the rest by even the vaguest of answers.
Upon realising that the query had garnered the attention of the entirety of the class, Mcgonagall nodded, "Very well."
"You all know of course that Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago by the four greatest witches and wizards of the age," she began, "Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin."
"It's astonishing," Theodore suddenly whispered from beside her, urging her to lean towards him.
"How do all their names sound so formidable?" he continued, puzzling Valerie to no end, "Imagine if I was one of the greatest wizards of the age a thousand years ago, how would anyone feel about being put in the Nott house?"
Valerie scoffed, whacking him upside in the head before turning back to the Professor as Theodore silently snickered.
"Now, three of the founders coexisted quite harmoniously— one did not. Salazar Slytherin wished to be more selective about the students admitted to Hogwarts. He believed magical learning should be kept within all-magic families, in other words, purebloods."
