Serena walked briskly back to the common room with her friends. Draco Malfoy was laughing about whatever it was he shouted at Hermione Granger back in the hallway.
"I'm going to smack that little twat,," spat Maggie as the plopped on the couches in the common room. "Nothing about this is funny."
"What the hell is the Chamber of Secrets?" asked Serena. Her friends shrugged their shoulders.
"I think I remember my father mentioning it once," said Jade. "But I didn't bother to ask him what it was."
"What did he say about it?" asked Olivia.
"Just that it had something to do with Salazar Slytherin," said Jade. "I didn't think too much more about it."
"Salazar Slytherin?" asked as Serena stopped in her tracks.
"Yeah," said Jade. "Why?"
"Well, what do we know about Salazar Slytherin?" asked Serena.
"How should I know?" asked Jade. "Olivia is the nerd here."
"Hey!" said Olivia offended.
"Well it's true," said Jade.
"Hey, focus here," said Maggie. "Olivia, do you know anything about Salazar Slytherin?"
"Just that he was one of the founders of Hogwarts," she began. "Although I do remember reading something – something about him leaving the school for some reason."
"That doesn't give us much to go on," said Serena.
"I'll need my book," she said. "I'll be right back."
Olivia sprinted off to the dormitory and Serena, Maggie and Jade all waited patiently for her to return. A few minutes later, she came running back with a copy of Hogwarts: A History.
"Just give me a minute to find it," she said as she began flipping through the pages. "Aha!"
The three other girls leaned in closer to her. Olivia began reading.
"Salazar Slytherin was one of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry along with Helga Hufflepuff, Godric Gryffindor and Rowena Ravenclaw. Salazar Slytherin was the only founder who insisted on being more selective about the students admitted to Hogwarts. He believed that magical learning should be kept within all magical families. The others did not agree, so he departed the school. Legend has it, that before he left, he built a hidden chamber within the school..."
"It doesn't say much else about it," said Olivia. "It just mentions the chamber, it doesn't actually talk about it."
"That must be it though," said Serena. "Do you think it's true?"
"It says it's a legend," said Maggie.
"Legends have to come from somewhere, don't they?" asked Jade.
"Jade, maybe you could write to your father and ask him about it?" asked Olivia.
"I can try," she said. "But I can't promise any answers."
"We should get to bed," said Serena as she looked around the common room. No one was left except for them. The four of them followed Serena up into the dormitories, they said goodnight to Jade and were off to sleep.
Over the next couple of days, the school was a buzz with the Chamber of Secrets excitement. Serena was so caught up in trying to figure out what the Chamber of Secrets was that she had almost forgotten about the night she had spent with Oliver Wood. It now felt like it happened months ago.
Serena didn't let all the excitement take away from her Quidditch practices. She had added an extra mile to their warm ups and every single person complained.
"I don't see how this helps us," breathed Malfoy as he jogged slowly behind Flint. "We – fly – on brooms!"
"The faster you can run, the faster you can fly!" snapped Serena. "Anymore complaining Draco and you won't be playing the match against Gryffindor!"
Malfoy had shut up but he wasn't happy about it. The team was finally beginning to listen to her. She figured it was because they were beginning to fear her. When it came close to game day, Serena's mind flipped a switch and was all-competition mode.
When the team had finished running their three miles, she instructed them to begin a scrimmage while she worked out some tactics in her notebook. Marcus flew down and headed over to her.
"Flint, what are you doing?" she snapped as she looked up. "You're supposed to be practicing."
"Easy Carrow," he said as he threw his broom on the ground. "I'm just here to make a suggestion."
"What kind of suggestion?"
"It's Thursday," he began.
"Oh, congratulations you've finally learned the days of the week," she said sarcastically as she turned back to her notebook.
"No," he said. "It's Thursday, which means we only have two days until the match against Gryffindor. I think you, me and Adrian need to work on some drills alone with Miles."
"Why?" asked Serena as she looked up again.
"Because, Wood is the best Keeper at Hogwarts, as much as I hate to admit it. We need to practice working together on strategies to bring him down. You and I both know how he plays."
She stared a Marcus for a minute. He did have a point. Oliver rarely let the Quaffle glide through the hoops.
"Okay," said Serena. "Once I finish up here you, me, Miles and Adrian will stay a few extra minutes."
"Fine," he said as he walked off and grabbed his broom.
Serena watched her team and called out instructions for the rest of practice. She flew around on her broom telling them what they were doing well, and what they needed to improve on. Yes, their brooms were fast, but Serena knew it doesn't matter how fast they are if you don't have good players riding them. By nine o'clock, she decided to call it a day.
"Hit the showers you three," she said as she pointed to Malfoy, Derrick and Bole. "I'm staying behind with these three to work on Offensive strategy."
Derrick, Bole and Malfoy seemed to be happy they didn't have to stay longer.
"Okay Miles, you know how Oliver Wood plays, right?" asked Serena.
"Yeah, he guards the center hoop, flies around all three occasionally and he's right handed so he tends to lean more towards the right," said Miles.
"Wow," said Serena with her eyebrows raised. "That's...impressive."
"I always study my opponents," he said. Maybe he wasn't such of a moron after all. She made a mental note to not give Olivia such a hard time about him.
"Okay, well I want you to play like Wood," said Serena as she mounted her broom. Marcus, Adrian and I will fly around trying to trip you up. Hopefully this will give us a better feel for what to expect on Saturday."
Serena kicked off from the ground and her teammates followed. Serena, Adrian and Marcus started off at the opposite end of the pitch and waited until Miles was in position. Serena started off with the Quaffle and passed it to Marcus. Marcus sped up, flew higher and dropped the Quaffle into Adrian's hands. Serena flew around the opposing hoops and then flew underneath Miles. Adrian passed her the Quaffle and she threw it, aiming for the left hoop. Miles was too quick on his broom and caught it.
"Well done," said Serena. "I thought that would trip you up for sure."
"I'd like to see some Gryffindors outfly Bletchley!" yelled Marcus from way up in the air.
"Let's go again!" yelled Serena.
They tried a few different plays and sadly Serena still had no idea what to expect from Oliver. She decided to call it quits when she realized she could no longer see the Quaffle because it was so dark.
"Practice won't be as long tomorrow," said Serena as she waited for the Bludgers to come to her. "We can't be too tired for the match, Saturday."
"That's fine with me," said Adrian as he headed towards the locker room. "I'm off to take a shower."
"Me too," said Miles as he trudged along behind him. Marcus stayed and helped me with the equipment.
"You can go take a shower now," said Serena.
"I'd rather wait for you," he said with a wink.
"Not tonight, Marcus," said Serena knowing what he wanted. "I'm tired."
"I actually don't think it's up to you," he said as he closed the trunk.
"I've got to take this back to Madam Hooch," said Serena as she grabbed the trunk from him and took off before he could say another word.
She practically sprinted back to the castle and could feel Marcus's beady little eyes on her the whole time. She didn't realize how tired she was until she dropped the trunk in the closet.
"How was practice?"
Serena jumped and spun around and was face to face with Madam Hooch.
"Goodness," said Serena. "You scared me. I didn't think you'd be in here."
"I've got to lock up the closet, dear," she said checking her watch. "A little late isn't it?"
"Sorry," said Serena not realizing that Madam Hooch had to wait up for them. "I had to stay a little later and help my Chasers."
"It's quite alright. You ready for the match Saturday?"
Serena shrugged her shoulders. She hoped they were ready. They've shown much improvement.
"It'll be an exciting one," she said as she locked the door and put a hex on it so no one could get to it. "Better get some rest."
Serena nodded and headed back to the dormitory. She planned on taking a nice long shower when she got there. On her way back, she found her thoughts leading to Oliver. She suddenly wished that she were in the same House as him so she could go and see him. Something about their night together had changed her perspective on him. He wasn't always so competitive, and she liked knowing that. She smiled as she turned a corner and ran into someone coming from the kitchen.
"Watch it!" yelled Serena. She looked up and saw Fred, George and Oliver all staring back at her. Their arms were filled with Cauldron Cakes, Pumpkin Pasties, and Fizzing Whizzbies.
"Sorry Carrow, didn't see you there," said Fred.
"What are you doing?" asked Serena as she stared at their sweets. She realized just how hungry she was.
"Just off to get a midnight snack," said George. "But, we'll be on our way."
"You coming, Wood?" asked Fred as he turned around.
"In a moment," he said. The twins smirked at each other and kept walking.
"The kitchens, eh?" asked Serena. Oliver handed her a Pumpkin Pasty.
"They do it quite a lot," he said. "I've got to be careful though. I can't afford getting caught wandering around this time of night. Not with a match this close."
"Do you think your team is ready?" she asked as she bit into her treat.
"Secrets," winked Oliver. "Listen, do you want to go back to the kitchen? I know you're hungry and you won't find much back in your common room."
Serena nodded and Oliver led her back to the kitchen.
"I've never been into the kitchen before," she said as they stopped at the painting of a large silver fruit bowl.
"It's quite secret," he said as he reached up and tickled the pear. Suddenly a green door handle appeared and Wood opened it. "After you," he said.
Serena walked in and was amazed at how large it was. There were house elves everywhere.
"House elves?" asked Serena. "That's who prepares our food? That's quite cruel don't you think?"
"Nah," said Oliver as he sat down at a table and sprawled out all of his sweets. "They love it. It's not like they're really enslaved. House elves love working and Dumbledore takes in free elves and gives them work."
Serena knew that they loved to work, so she didn't feel as bad about it. She grabbed a Cauldron Cake from Oliver's pile and listened to her stomach growl some more.
"I didn't eat much at dinner," she said blushing. "I was too busy working out strategies."
"What kind of strategies?" he asked with a wink.
"None of your business," she smiled.
A house elf had brought over two glasses of hot butterbeer.
"Oh thank you," said Serena. The house elf bowed at her and returned to his work. "They're adorable."
Wood smiled at her and she could feel her cheeks grow hot again.
"So how did you find out about this place?" asked Serena.
"Fred and George," said Oliver. "They won't tell me how they know about it of course, but if you wreak havoc as much as they do, then I'm sure you'd find out a lot about this school."
"Are they your best friends?" she asked.
"I guess so," he said laughing. "Why?"
"I dunno, I just see you spend lots of time with them. And the rest of your team for that matter."
"We all get along great," he said.
"Must be nice," muttered Serena.
"You don't hang out with your team?" asked Oliver.
"Oh no," she said. "I mean...I like them...sometimes. But, they're boys. I'd rather hang out with my girl friends. It would be nice to have more girls on the team, but Marcus is right. It would just cause problems."
"Why did you let Flint back on the team?" asked Wood. His tone went from light and cheerful to something much harder.
"He's a good player," she said. "I know I probably shouldn't have. But, he's been quite helpful with plays and getting the team under control."
"He's a cheater, Serena," he said. "That's why he lost being Captain."
"I know," said Serena. She didn't know why she was talking to Oliver about this, but she felt like she had to. "He's trapping me. He's giving me no choice." Her voice was much quieter and vulnerable.
"Can't you talk to someone about it?" he asked. "Professor Snape? Madam Hooch? I'm sure if you talked to them they'd understand. He's manipulating you Serena...I don't want to see you hurting in the end."
Serena had forgotten how much Wood already knew. Suddenly her tears were flowing quickly down her cheeks. Oliver didn't seem to know what to do, and it took them both by surprise when it started raining. They looked outside and saw that it was pouring. It soon turned into a thunderstorm.
"Serena?" he asked. Serena looked up at him and then looked out the window. She quickly dried her face when she realized that she was the one making it storm.
"I'm sorry," she said as she wiped her face. "I haven't been this upset in a long time. I guess my emotions got the best of me. Sorry about the storm - " She stopped herself realizing that she was about to give away her secret.
"It's not your fault it's raining," he said with a laugh. "It's okay."
"I'd better get back to the common room," she said while standing up.
"I'll walk you," he said. She smiled and they made their way out of the kitchen and turned towards the dungeons.
"You might get in trouble for being down here so late," she said as she stopped in front of the stone wall to enter the common room.
"It's alright," he said. "It was worth it."
"I had fun," she said with a smile.
"Me too," he said as he reached out and grabbed her hand. Instinctively she pulled back. "Sorry..."
"No, it's okay," she said. "I'm just not used to – um – I'll see you later."
He smiled. "Goodnight, Serena."
She watched as he turned the corner and felt a funny feeling in her stomach. It was kind of like the feeling she had when Terence first asked her out.
"God damn you, Oliver Wood," she muttered as she entered the common room.