"wait so filch's cat is dead and the chamber of secrets has been opened?"
draco nodded.
"what in the world is the chamber of secrets?"
"i don't know. i would've had you find out by talking to potter, but you were asleep like always."
"a girl needs her beauty sleep," maddy casually shrugged. "i'll go find them and find out for you, mr malfoy," she joked, standing up.
"you sure you're not just doing this so you can see granger?" draco smirked.
"you're a pain in the arse," maddy rolled her eyes, leaving the slytherin common room.
𓆉
"maddy," hermoine whispered to the sleeping girl.
"go away," she mumbled in response.
"i can't, we're in class," the granger girl responded as if it were obvious, causing the older girl to shoot up. hermoine and harry chuckled at maddy's actions. the only class she'll choose to sleep during was lockhart's.
draco made her sit with them for this class period because he wanted to know more about the chamber of secrets.
ron sighed as he sat down, and hermoine raised her hand.
"yes, miss granger?" professor mcgonagall acknowledged the girl.
"professor, i was wondering if you could tell us about the chamber of secrets," she asked, causing the slytherin duo to actually pay attention.
"my lesson is transfiguration, miss granger," the teacher's eyes widened.
"yes, professor, but there seems to be very little written about the chamber of secrets. for those of us with personal interest in the subject, that is disturbing."
"very well," minnie sighed. "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," she quickly glanced at maddy, which didn't go unnoticed by the trio next to the girl. "three of the founders co-existed quite harmoniously, one did not."
"three guesses who," ron leaned closer to harry. maddy tensed up. yes, salazar may have not been good, but he was still her ancestor.
"salazar slytherin wished to be more selective about the students admitted to hogwarts. he believed that magical learning should be kept within all-magic families. in other words, purebloods. unable to sway the others, he decided to leave the school. according to legend, slytherin had built a hidden chamber in this castle, known as the chamber of secrets. shortly before departing, he sealed it until that time when his own true heir returned to the school," another pause to quickly glance at maddy, to see how she was dealing with this newfound information. minnie knew maddy wasn't the heir. she saw right through her. madison taylor was just an innocent girl with a messed up family. she was the complete opposite of her relatives, and one day, she would prove it.
draco thought otherwise. in his defense, she was related to him somehow.
"the heir alone would be able to open the chamber of secrets and unleash the horror within, and by doing so, purge the school of all those who, in slytherin's view, were unworthy to study magic."
"muggleborns," hermoine spoke up, looking rather down. without thinking, maddy intertwined her fingers with the girl next to her, surprising not only herself, but hermoine as well. the granger girl sent her a small smile that made maddy's heart flutter.
"yes. naturally, the school has been searched many times for a such chamber. it has never been found," mcgonagall replied.
"professor, what exactly does the legend tell us what lies within the chamber?"
"the chamber is said to be home to something which the heir of slytherin alone can control. it is said to be home to a-to a monster."
the bell rung, signaling the end of the conversation, which was probably for the best. maddy let go of hermoine's hand, which she didn't remember she was holding, and gathered her things and began to walk away from the trio, but draco gave her a look. she rolled her eyes and turned around, waiting for them to catch up to her.
"do you think it's true? do you really think there's a chamber of secrets?"
"yes, couldn't you tell? mcgonagall's worried, all the teachers are."
harry, hermoine and ron looked at maddy.
"what?"
"you're in slytherin," ron said, receiving an annoyed nod.
"you must know something," harry added.
"i know as much as you three," she replied, hoping for the conversation to be over.
"but if there really is a chamber of secrets, and it's been opened, that means-"
"the heir of slytherin has returned to hogwarts. the question is, who is it?"
"uhm let's think, who do we know who thinks muggleborns are scums?" ron asked with no emotion.
"if you're talking about him," hermoine stopped.
"of course! you heard him," maddy interrupted the conversation by walking away. "where are you going?"
"that was rubbish," she said, walking up to draco.
"at least you got to spend time with your little girlfriend," he teased.
"i hate you, you know that?"
"sure," he chuckled, before becoming serious. "what do you see in her? she's a muggleborn."
"straight to the point, alright. uhm, first of all, i don't like her. second of all, there's nothing wrong with being a muggleborn."
"but-"
"merlin, draco!" she cut him off, sighing and leaving the boy alone in his thoughts as she went to go train with mcgonagall.
𓆉
"crabbe, goyle, where have you been? pigging out in the great hall again? and what are you doing here, weasley?"
"mind your attitude malfoy," percy frowned. "you want to show a little more respect to a school
prefect."
"why are you wearing glasses, goyle?"
"oh, uh, reading," the boy stuttered, taking them off.
"reading? i didn't know you could read," draco spoke, furrowing his eyebrows and making maddy snort. "come on boys and maddy, weasley thinks he's going to find the slytherin's heir himself."
percy went to say something, but the boys had already taken off. the red head awkwardly waved at maddy, who ignored the gesture and followed draco.
they arrived to the painting, so maddy said the password. she turned around and noticed crabbe and goyle admiring the common room as if they've never seen it before.
the blonde sat down on a sofa, maddy instantly throwing herself onto it and laying her head on his lap.
"you'd never know the weasley's were purebloods the way they behave. they're an embarrassment to the wizarding world! all of them!" malfoy exclaimed, and although maddy didn't really care, she flicked while crabbe cracked his knuckles. "what's wrong with you, crabbe?"
"oh, uhm, stomach ache," he replied after goyle nudged him.
"you know, im surprised that the daily prophet haven't done a report on all these attacks. i suppose dumbledore's trying to hush it all up. father always said that dumbledore was the worst thing that has ever happened to this place."
"you're wrong!" goyle randomly shouted.
"what?" draco questioned, carefully moving maddy's head so he could stand up. "you think there's someone here who's worse than dumbledore? well, do you?"
"harry potter?" goyle replied, his opinion sounding more like a question.
"good one, goyle. you're absolutely right. saint potter. and people actually think that he's the heir of slytherin?"
maddy raised her eyebrows.
"right! you couldn't go because of training," he began, and she smacked him.
"training?" the other two boys asked in unison.
"potter spoke parseltongue while we were dueling."
"you must have some idea of who's behind it all," goyle interrupted, still confused about maddy's training.
"you know i don't, goyle. i told you yesterday. how many times do i have to tell you?" the blonde paced. he stopped at a table and picked up a box, brought it to his ear and made it rattle. "is this yours?"
goyle shook his head so draco pocketed it.
"but my father did say this. it's been fifty years since the chamber has been opened. he wouldn't tell me who opened it, only that they were expelled. the last time that the chamber of secrets was opened, a mudblood died. so it was only a matter of time before one of them is killed this time. as for me, i hope it's granger," maddy rolled her eyes and threw a pillow at the speaking boy.
crabbe jumped off the sofa and goyle held him back.
"what's the matter with you two? you're acting very odd."
"it's his stomach ache."
both maddy and draco became interested in what was inside the box the boy had pocketed moments before, that they didn't notice the other two start heading towards the exit.
"hey, where are you going?"
no response.
"i'll follow them. they've been acting weird this whole time."
"alright, but be safe!"
maddy stayed hidden as she left the common room, making sure who she thought was crabbe and goyle didn't see her.
she snuck into the bathroom, and crabbe and goyle appeared to be ron and harry. they must've used a potion or spell of some sort.
"hermoine, come out. we've got loads to tell you!"
"go away," hermoine cried, making maddy worry for some reason. ron turned his head and the older girl startled him. he proceeded to tap harry, who was startled too.
"u-uh we can explain," ron began. maddy just waved him off, seeing no point of an explanation.
"oh, wait till you see. it's awful," myrtle spoke.
the boys slowly opened the stall door and maddy moved closer.
"do you remember me telling you the poly juice potion was only for human transformation?" hermoine turned around, yellow eyes and a cat face coming into view.
"bloody hell," maddy mumbled, causing ron to whack her. like usual, it turned into a little fight.
"must you two always do that?" harry questioned, pushing ron away from the girl before focusing on hermoine.
"it was cat hair that i plucked off of millicent bulstrode's robes! look at my face!"
"look at your tail," ron laughed.
word count- 1669
date written- september 20, 2020