Stuck AIAOY 2

Chapter 4

"I do not want to be here."  Rebecca hissed, inching towards the door.  "I wasn't even invited!"

"It's his deathday party, Rebecca."  Harry rolled his eyes, though his cheek lessened as he saw how she looked around the room ahead full of spectres from the castle.  She was afraid.  "We just have to make an appearance, as a thank you.  You nearly walked right into Filch yesterday and he would have-"

"He would have done anything he wanted because he thinks I killed his cat."  Rebecca finished, shrugging as Hermione gave her a look.  "It's the truth, isn't it?"

"Don't be so cavalier about it."  Hermione said.  "You'll give weight to their baseless accusations."

"Here we go."  Ron mumbled, crossing his arms.  His complaint of the day--Halloween, that is--was that Hermione went out of her way to use big words so none of them knew what she was talking about.

"'Cavalier' isn't even-"

"You came!"  Sir Nicholas appeared in front of them, a handkerchief in hand and a smile on his face.  "I am so happy to see you on the momentous day."  

Moaning Myrtle waved from over Sir Nicholas' shoulder.  "500th anniversary of his near-"

"Of my decapitation!"  He corrected.  "Come in, we only just started."

A deathday party, Rebecca quickly realised, was a horribly depressing affair for someone still alive.  The ghosts around them talked about the most grisly details of their deaths and the food that Sir Nicholas insisted they take some of, had all well begun rotting.

When they were done, all four of them were thankful.

They'd almost started wishing for something to happen so that they could have their very own deathday.

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"Professor Binns?"  Hermione's hand was up, as it always seemed to be.  History of Magic was no different, though it did surprise Harry a little that it was Hermione with a question instead of Rebecca.  "Professor, I...I wondered if you could tell us what the Chamber of Secrets is?"

The class went silent.  It had been nearly a week since the deathday party and since the words' appearance, but it was still the talk of the school.  Harry and Rebecca took the brunt of the blame, as always seemed to be the case.

"The Chamber of Secrets?"  Professor Binns echoed, his ghostly form sitting slightly straighter.  "Years ago, long before Hogwarts was home to you or your parents, even your parents' parents."  The students sighed and sat back in their seats as Professor Binns seemed to be settling into one of his drones.  "Hogwarts' had four founders: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin."

"Salazar Slytherin," Professor Binns paused a moment before continuing.  "Salazar Slytherin had opinions that were staunch as to who was to be able to attend Hogwarts."  Hermione's face remained plain as Draco made a point of turning in his seat to look at her.  "So fiercely he believed only those with magical parents should be taught our ways, he left when this was not the case."

Hermione and Draco exchanged expressions, she taking on his smug smirk.  Rebecca would have liked to see the exchange, but she was scribbling the story Professor Binns was telling them into the margins of her notes so she and Hermione could use it in their later research.  While Rebecca and Hermione were insistent that the library would hold some piece of information regarding the chamber, the boys disagreed.

"Salazar left the castle when his demands were not met and he swore that, when the time came, there would be a Chamber of Secrets with a beast only the heir of Slytherin himself would be able to control."  Rebecca's quill stopped in the middle of the word, her attention forced up and ahead.  A monster?  A beast?  "A monster that would cleanse the stones of Hogwarts from all muggle blood."