GEMINI, HERMIONE, AND RON HUFFED; AS THEY FINALLY ARRIVED TO WHERE THEIR FRIEND HAD LOCATED. Harry Potter stood, balmy, transfixed by a corridor's wall. They were all utterly convinced that he was off his rocker, and his actions only encouraged that assumption.
"Harry," Ron started out, "What are you doing?" Gemini sharply looked at the ginger buffoon; he did not approach the situation carefully. They had already sprung a multitude of question's on the boy, and now that he stood in a creepy silence...probably not best to continue with that. As a substitute for answering them, Harry's fingers slightly trembled as he pointed at the wall that faced him. His friends followed his direction and were shocked at what they now viewed. In dripping red...paint, maybe, there was something written on the uneven stones. "The Chamber of Secrets has been opened?," Hermione read out loud, unsure. Both girl's looked at each other in befuddlement, but neither of them knew what the statement meant. Taking into account how the message was delivered...Gemini expected that it wasn't anything pleasant. "What's that? Hanging underneath," Ron, eventually coming out of shock, queried. The rest of the group took notice of what Ron was inquiring about, and Gemini harshly sucked in a breath. A cat hung stiffly by it's tail from one of the torch brackets. It wasn't just any stray, though. Gemini could easily identify that cat; from the numerous of times she had spent running away from it. "That's Filch's cat. That is definitely Miss. Norris," she informed the lot.
They all winced. Filch's aberrant obsession with his cat was a widely known fact. Gemini's eyes shifted to the adjacent window; in a attempt of trying to forget what she saw, and noticed multiple spider's as they scuttled up a silver thread. It appeared as if they were fighting one another to get through a crack in the glass. The insects looked frantic; how peculiar. It seemed Harry had observed the same thing; for he asked, "Ron, Look at that! Have you ever seen spiders act like that?" After a few beats of silence, Harry turned around, "Ron?," he questioned...with much more emotion. The ginger had already began to back away after the first announcement of their unknown guests, "I...I don't...like spiders."
Suddenly, the stairwell contiguous to them delivered dozens of students. Their chattering instantaneously halted when they viewed the word's plastered on the wall. It did nothing to help that they saw the Gryffindor Quartet standing in front of the eerie claims; alone. It came off as quite suspicious. A thudding silence fell, the only thing heard was Draco Malfoy pushing his way to the front. When he finally arrived, out of the throng of students, he eyed the wall with a nasty grin. "Enemies of the heir, beware!," Malfoy boastfully read out, "You'll be next, Mudbloods!" They all could have went without him reading the last verse, and the unnecessary hateful taunts. Draco's pale blues settled on Hermione, and Gemini protectively stepped in front of her companion. With a pop of her knuckles, Draco had backed away. Obviously, he was not looking to get pummeled with a larger crowd in attendance.
Filch appeared, and Gemini knew it about to go to Hell. She, strangely, felt a sense of sympathy in regards to what he unknowingly walked into. "What's going on here? Go on now! Make way...Miss. Norris?!," he wailed; once he realized what the mass of students were crowded around. Unexpectedly, the wiry man turned on Gemini. There was a fierce glint in his eye's as he accused, "You! You've murdered my cat! You're always causing me trouble. I'll kill you! I'll-". He was cut off by the furious child, "I didn't bloody touch Miss. Norris! I'll admit; a lot of my amusing pranks are administered on you, but I would never kill an animal! And...I would like to see you try and kill me. Go on. I dare you." The way her face stonily sat terrified the other children. They knew to never test the combined Lupin-Black temper, and it seemed Hogwarts' caretaker had crossed that line by a mile. The man's hands, that had found their way to rest on her shoulders, significantly lost the grip they once conducted. Harry, who was now restricted by Ron, glared at the thin man for touching her.
"Argus!," Albus Dumbledore called out in a reprimanding tone. The touch of Filch was automatically removed, but Gemini's resentment for him burned brighter than it ever had before. Dumbledore marched forward; trailed by a phalanx of teachers. Upon seeing the wall, Dumbledore's face darkened in a way the students had never seen before. "Everyone will proceed to their dormitories immediately," the older man commanded; power oozing off of him in waves. They all began to walk away; no one wanted to question Dumbledore, but then he turned towards those who first had stumbled across the scene. "Everyone except you four," he added as an afterthought. Gemini wanted to groan, for she never knew why it was always her that ended up in these situations, but she prevented herself as she understood the circumstances were quite severe. As the corridor emptied, Dumbledore stepped up to the wall; and with extreme gentleness; removed Miss. Norris from her previous spot. Ron found this action, albeit kind, to be quite grotesque...and briskly looked away from the stiff feline.
"It was definitely a curse that killed her -- probably the Transmogrifian Torture. Encountered it myself once, in Ouagadougou. The full story's all in my autobiography," Lockhart's unwanted opinion sliced through the tense silence. Gemini couldn't help but label Gilderoy Lockhart a narcissistic bastard; who was full of it. Why would he try and promote his book during a time like this? Dumbledore ignored the man, and after proper examination, concluded, "She's not dead, Argus. She's been petrified. But how she's been petrified...I cannot say." The caretaker instantly turned on Gemini, "Ask her! It's her that's done it. You saw what was written on the wall! Besides, she knows I'm...I'm a Squib." Gemini scoffed out, unimpressed, and challenged her accuser, "Oh, honestly! Come off it. I know I've done a lot of thing's, but not in any way would I harm an animal! I never touched Miss. Norris, and I am not one for blood supremacy. In regards to that, I have no room to talk ill upon others." Some of the teachers understood the depth behind the girl's bold choice of words. Her father's moon sickness was not commonly known; unless one studied the Ministry Wolf Registry. Disregarding those facts, the staff still appeared aghast from her outburst. The girl was not about to sit by and be wrongly arraigned. "Rubbish," the red-faced man screamed, "She saw the Kwikspell letter in my office! She did all of this to mock me! After all, She's a Black." Gemini's furiousness borderlined confusion, "I saw your what? What the hell is a Kikispilk? And, I am a Lupin as well as a Black! Hypocrite."
Snape, surprisingly, stepped forward, "If I might, Headmaster. Perhaps Potter, Lupin-Black and their friends...were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, the circumstances are suspicious. I, for one, don't recall seeing Potter nor Lupin-Black at dinner." He had them all shocked during the first half, but his cunning nature shone towards the end; through and through. What a passive-aggressive git. Gilderoy Lockhart readily stepped in, "I'm afraid that's my doing, Severus. You see, Harry was helping me answer my fan mail. Regretfully, uh, I inform you that Miss. Lupin-Black was not present with us." Snape's lip curled in disgust, and all the other teachers gave Gemini their full attention. The girl, defeatedly, raised her hands up, "As I admitted earlier...I am one for pulling pranks. So, I am going to be honest here. Fred, George, and I had spent the last two hours pranking Filch. We set off dungbombs and fireworks in his office, but during that time Miss. Norris was safe and sound by his side. We all left after he started cleaning up, and that was the last time I saw then both. I departed from the twins and went to pick Harry up from his torture, er - fan mail writing; I mean. I can take a truth serum or whatever, but I wouldn't typically out myself on such an amazing prank." Gemini felt bad for outing the boy's, but they could understand she needed witnesses. The silence consumed them all for a moment; Filch's face deepening in color. "I knew it was you three!," Filch roared out.
Hermione, meekly, interrupted, "That's why Ron and I went looking for them, Professor. We'd just found them both when Harry had said..." Hermione then trailed off; she realized admitting Harry claimed he could hear voices would not help his case. Snape's eyebrow questionably rose; he had sensed her moment of hesitation. "Yes, Miss. Granger?," he prompted her to continue. Coming up with something on the spot; Harry responded for his bushy-haired friend, "When I told her that myself and Gemini weren't hungry. We were headed back to the Common Room and...found Miss. Norris." Snape eyed Harry coldly; knowing he had only spouted out a lie. "Innocent until proven guilty. You four are free to go," Dumbledore mused. Not needing to be told twice; they all sent nods of acknowledgment before walking away.
All of them collectivity released a breathe, in ease, as they fully rounded the corner. Cautious looks were shared between the four of them, and with more distance put between themselves and the Professors; Ron whispered, "Gem. Kwikspell Letter's are usually issued out to Squib's. A Squib is someone who's born into a wizarding family but hasn't got any powers of their own. It's why Filch is trying to learn magic from a Kwikspell course. It could also, possibly, be why he hates us students so much. He's bitter." Gemini nodded as she took in the information, "I had previous knowledge on what Squib's are, but I never looked in to it enough to learn they had a chance like that. That's why I had no clue as to what he was talking about. For Merlin's sake, I didn't even know Filch was one." In that period of time, Gemini felt somewhat lousy for all of the pranks she had pulled on the man. She never stopped to consider why he was so miserable, and this new insight cleared up a sizable portion. It still didn't take away from the fact that he judged her.
Hermione, who'd only been half-listening -- as if trying to unravel something in her head, suddenly said, "Harry. This voice...You said you heard it first in Lockhart's office?" All eye's turned to the pale boy. Gemini had nearly forgotten what had landed them in that situation; Harry losing all common sense. "Yes," answered the boy. Hermione accepted his affirmation before she continued, "And did he hear it?" Harry looked down at the cobblestones, "He said he didn't." Well, that wasn't reassuring. "Maybe he was lying," Ron offered, in a attempt quiet their worries. Hermione shot him a scandalized look, "I hardly think someone with Gilderoy Lockhart's credentials would lie to one of his students, Ronald. Besides, if you recall, we didn't hear anything either." Gemini looked at Hermione as if she were an oddity; she was beyond defensive of that idiot. "You do believe me, don't you?," Harry asked them all. The bookworm quickly answered, "Of course we do! It's just...it's a bit weird, isn't it? You hear this voice and then...Miss. Norris turns up petrified. Also, Gemini's alibi will prove solid if questioned." The friend group typically would not have doubts about one another, but hearing voices proved to put an edge on things. Harry frowned, "I can't explain it. It was...scary. Do you think I should've told them -- Dumbledore and the other's, I mean." Gemini hopped on Harry's back and scoffed, "Are you mad? No, Harry. Even in the wizarding world, hearing voices isn't a good sign."