ABANDONED || Me and my Evil Cousin

XVIII - Spying Solo

Their mouths were open in shock.

"Wait, what? Who is it?" asked Liza curiously.

I took another deep breath, before telling them.

"It's Tom. I'm sure about it. It's why he's been late to class lately and why he's been acting suspicious. And... well... this is sort of hard to say but one of my ancestors is the person who, well, made the chamber of secrets. I know - it's something that I can't change but that means the heir is someone related to me. So it has to be Tom. There's no other way."

"T t tom?" whispered Mary. "So he's the one who is attacking all those people? And what do you think this monster is?"

"Yeah, I'm 100%%%% sure that it's him", I said. "I think the monster is some sort of snake. Slytherin, snakes, parseltongue... it all fits."

"I mean, Vi. I believe you, but we're only three sixteen year olds. How are we going to get people to believe that a prefect, the best student at the school, is secretly the Heir of Slytherin? They just wouldn't believe us no matter what we said. And even if we got decent evidence Tom would just deny it and he'd make the teachers think he's totally innocent.", said Liza.

After thinking about it, that's actually a pretty good point.

After talking about it in the dorm room for ages and ages, Mary came up with sort of a solution.

"We need to spy on him. We could do a disillusionment charm... follow him around the school. We could find out where the chamber is - and then we've got him caught red handed."

Liza started nodding, but I butted in.

"We? We need to spy on him? You two are muggleborns - and if he opens the chamber when we're following him, and he finds us, then you two could be petrified. You could even die - we can't risk you going. I'm going to spy on him alone.

💠

The weeks went by. Two more students were petrified now, and I couldn't put this off anymore. I had to catch Tom. I had to get him expelled, so the attacks could stop and the school would be safe again.

I was going to do it.

During class on the 13th of June 1943, I decided that it would happen today. I couldn't really concentrate that hardly - I was trying to make a mental plan about what I was going to do. I thought the evening would be a good time to do it. There was a high chance the chamber wouldn't be opened tonight but I'd keep going until it would.

I kept thinking about the consequences if he found me. Would he petrify me? Kill me? But I would be ready to die, if it meant saving the other students.

💠

Later that day, I was eating dinner. After I had finished, I would go. This was it.

When I was done, I took a deep breath. I walked outside the great hall with my friends. They whispered good luck to me, before going up to the common room. I was alone now.

I went into a small broom cupboard, and whispered the incantation under my breath.

It was the strangest feeling. Bit by bit my body was turning not invisible, but taking on the exact colours and textures of the cupboard.

I poked my head round the door. Everyone was filing out of the great hall until only a few remained.

I walked over to the Slytherin table, and near the end of it I saw Tom. I tried to keep as quiet as possible. He was just finishing up his dinner, but then he got up and went outside the almost deserted hall.

💠

As he walked out, I was very surprised. Instead of going left, in the direction of the Slytherin Common Room, he turned right, and went up a flight of stairs.

He got off at the first floor - I was holding my breath in fear.

He eventually stopped, at one of the girl's bathrooms. Why was he going to a girl's bathroom? Maybe this was the entrance to the chamber.

He took out his wand out, and whispered "Homenum Revelio."

How stupid am I to not think of this? I obviously hadn't thought this plan through fully. I tried my hardest, but I couldn't hide any longer.

My charm came off instantly, and I was covered in gold light, revealing me.

💠

Tom turned around, and saw me instantly.

"Violet."

I was so scared. I could barely speak.

"I have been meaning to talk to you for a while."

I was terrified, but I still managed to say "I know what you're doing."

"I knew you would eventually - I have something to ask you."

Something to ask me. I have no idea what that could be.

"You and I are some of Salazar Slytherin's last descendandts. I am here to finish his work, to rid this school of all those who are not worthy to study magic. I am petrifying the students with a basilisk - and its eyes are fatal to anyone who stares into them."

His words were calm, precise and sort of hypnotic. I knew he was trying to hide his true feelings, his anger at me.

"You may not be the true heir, as I am. However I believe you will have a degree of control over the Basilisk. So I have a deal for you."

I had no idea what to say, so I just listened, I didn't want to do anything else to provoke him - even though it was hard to hold my anger.

"Here is the deal. If you come with me, help control the monster, then you and your filthy mudblood friends leave unscathed. And when I become the greatest sorcerer the world has ever known, you will be one of my most respected servants. If, however, you do not come with me, then you and your friends will be first on the list to DIE."