"'Enemies of the Heir, beware,'" Draco reads off from the wall to the now rather large crowd. I had now joined the trio. "You'll be next, Mudbloods."
"Oh hush it Draco!" I yell snapping my attention to him. I could see the pain in his eyes as I yell. I decided to ignore it and turn back to the wall.
"Its just a warning," He spits back.
"What's going on here?" Flich says as he approaches the crowd, "Go on. Make way, make way. Potter? What are you...? Mrs. Norris?" He looks at his cat hanging by its tail. "You've murdered my cat."
"No. No," Harry assures.
"I'll kill you. I'll kill you!" Filch yells.
"-Argus! Argus, I..." Dumbledore says as he approaches with the teaches. He looks at the scarlet covered wall and stops, "Everyone will proceed to their dormitories immediately. Everyone except... you four." He sends us an empty look. I was not about to be a scapegoat.
"Ravenclaws, follow me," Someone yells. The bustling of students soon turns to silence as the teachers peer down at us.
"She's not dead, Argus," Dumbledore announces, "She has been Petrified."
"Thought so," Lockhart says, "So unlucky I wasn't there. I know exactly the countercurse that could've spared her."
"No you didn't," I say. McGonagall and Snape look at me with wide eyes. "I mean 5 points from Slytherin." I bit my tongue to make sure I don't open my mouth again.
"But how she has been Petrified, I cannot say," Dumbledore.
"Ask him. It's him that's done it. You saw what he wrote on the wall," Filch says.
"It's not true, sir. I swear," Harry says, "I never touched Mrs. Norris."
"And no one wants to touch that filthy cat," I say. The same dirty look and I sigh, "What its true!.... Ugh fine... I mean 5 more points from Slytherin."
"If I might, headmaster? Perhaps Potter and his friends were just in the wrong place at the wrong time," Snape says, "However.... the circumstances are suspicious. I, for one, don't recall seeing Potter at dinner."
"I'm afraid that's my doing, Severus," Lockhart says, "You see, Harry was helping me answer my fan mail."
"That's why Ron and I went looking for him, professor," Hermione says they look at me. And I sigh.
"Same," I lie. I hadn't even realized Harry wasn't there. I was to busy being mad at Draco.
"We'd just found him when he said-" Hermione says drawing the attention off of me.
"Yes, Miss Granger?" Snape asks.
"When I said I wasn't hungry," Harry adds. This also probably a lie knowing Harry, "We were heading back to the common room when we found Mrs. Norris."
"Innocent until proven guilty, Severus," Dumbledore says.
"My cat has been Petrified," Filch whines, "I want to see some punishment!"
"We will be able to cure her, Argus," Dumbledore says, "As I understand it, Madam Sprout has a very healthy growth of Mandrake. When matured, a potion will be made which will revive Mrs. Norris. And in the meantime... I strongly recommend caution... to all."
******
"Could I have your attention, please?" Professor McGonagall asks. We look up and she starts to speak, "Right. Now, today, we will be transforming animals... into water goblets. Like so." She turns to the large bird perched onto her desk and pulls out her wand. "One, two, three. Vera Verto." It turns into a overly fancy silver goblet and she turns to us. "Now it's your turn. Who would like to go first? Mr. Weasley."
"Oh lord," I say. His broken wand would definitely screw him over. Draco scoffs from beside me. I look over and roll my eyes. I had decided to not talk to him. And that was exceptionally hard seeing as he was a stubborn asshole. Which meant if I tried to switch seats he would too. Even if that meant physically moving someone to do so.
"One, two, three. Vera Verto," She reminds him. He looks at scabbers and points his wand at him. He clears his throat.
"Vera Verto!" Ron says. Instead of a fancy goblet. It turned into a disturbing brown furred cup with a wiggling tail and nervous squeals. The glass laughs at it as McGonagall sighs.
"That wand needs replacing, Mr. Weasley," She says. Hermione raises her hand high in the air and McGonagall turns to her. "Yes, Miss Granger?"
"Professor... I was wondering if you could tell us about the Chamber of Secrets," Hermione asks.
"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: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff... Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin. Now, three of the founders coexisted quite harmoniously. One did not."
"Three guesses who," I hear Ron whisper to Harry. I reach up and smack the back of his head and he groans in pain.
"Stop making fun of Slytherins!" I whisper yell at him.
"Bloody hell woman," He groans.
"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, pure-bloods. Unable to sway the others, he decided to leave the school," She says, "Now, according to legend... Slytherin had built a hidden chamber in this castle... known as the Chamber of Secrets. Though, shortly before departing, he sealed it... until that time when his own true Heir returned to the school. The Heir alone... would be able to open the Chamber... and unleash the horror within, and by so doing... purge the school of all those who... in Slytherin's view, were unworthy to study magic."
"Muggle-borns," Hermione says. Draco sneers at her and she looks away from him.
"Naturally, the school has been searched many times. No such chamber has been found," Professor McGonagall says.
"Professor? What exactly does legend tell us lies within the Chamber?" Hermione asks. Professor McGonagall looks Hermione in the eyes and speaks again.
"The Chamber is said to be home to something... that only the Heir of Slytherin can control. It is said to be the home... of a monster."
******
"Do you think it's true? Do you think there really is a Chamber of Secrets?" Ron asks.
"Yes. Couldn't you tell? McGonagall's worried. All the teachers are," Hermione says.
"If there really is a Chamber of Secrets, and it has been opened, that means..." Harry says.
"The Heir of Slytherin has returned to Hogwarts. The question is, who is it?" Hermione says says.
"Let's think. Who do we know who thinks all Muggle-borns are scum?" Ron says.
"If you're talking about Malfoy...," I say.
"Of course. You heard him. 'You'll be next, Mudbloods.'" Ron says.
"I heard him," Hermione says.
"Everyone did," I say.
"But Malfoy, the Heir of Slytherin?" Hermione asks.
"Maybe Ron's right, Hermione," Harry says "I mean, look at his family. The whole lot of them have been in Slytherin for centuries."
"So has my family!" I defend, "plus Draco's too stupid to do anything like that."
"Maybe," Harry says.
"Crabbe and Goyle must know. Maybe we could trick them into telling," Ron says.
"Even they aren't that thick," I say.
"He might tell you," Harry offers.
"Not after the fight him and I had," I say, "we haven't said a word to each other."
"But there might be another way," Hermione says, "Mind you, it would be difficult. Not to mention we'd be breaking about 50 school rules... and it'll be dangerous. Very dangerous."
"I'm in," I say.
*****
"Here it is. The Polyjuice Potion," Hermione says as she joins us. A book in hand.
"I think I've heard about that before," I say trying to search my memory for where. Probably something I read during studying.
"'Properly brewed, the Polyjuice Potion allows the drinker... .to transform himself temporarily into the physical form of another,'" She reads off.
"You mean if Harry and I drink that stuff, we'll turn into Crabbe and Goyle?" Ron says.
"Yes," Hermione says.
"Wicked! Malfoy will tell us anything," Ron says.
"Exactly," I explain.
"But it's tricky. I've never seen a more complicated potion," She reveals.
"How long will it take to make?" Harry asks.
"A month," She says.
"A month? But, Hermione, if Malfoy is the Heir of Slytherin... he could attack half the Muggle-borns in the school by then," Harry says.
"I know. But it's the only plan we've got," She says.
"In the mean time," I say, "I'll get you Robes so you blend in."
"Try to get things as if they were Crabbe and Goyle okay," Hermione says.
"Got it," I say, "mission trick Dragon boy is a go."
"We aren't calling it that," Ron says.
"You're no fun."