Occultus Aranea

The Last Night

Blaize snapped his eyes open. His vision was fuddled, clouded even. He could barely see anything in the dark room he was in. The only small lit radius came from candles hooked at the high cellar. After slowly raising his brown head, he could make out the shadows of some people lying around him. All seemingly in the same state of paralysis he was in.

He could feel the cool stone on his back, so cold it might even be wet. He tried to get up in vain, and fought to stay awake, concentrating on the noises he could hear, a snake hissing, it seems or whatever else might lie in this room.

Why is it so cold here? he thought.

He blinked and his vision widened. He perceived a door at his right leading to a room few knew existed and Draco laying on his back, breathing heavily. He attempted to evaluate Draco's distance; he didn't seem far away. Was it possible that Draco knew about this room and didn't share the information with him?

Draco spoke slightly with chattering teeth and Blaise tried to piece out his words together. ""Where... we". After a long few breaths he got into his bearings and got up at last.

There were few people he had seen but didn't know. Around him were the familiar figures of Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom. What were they doing here? Theodore Nott was here too, and a blonde girl whose name he couldn't remember. After a few minutes where Blaize tried to think straight, he capitulated. No one in this very room shared common points. At least, not at first sight.

Draco was still quiveringly breathing. Hermione glanced at everyone, putting down the sleeves of her pink sweater to cover her hands. "I think we got lost," she breathed.

"How clever you are." Draco snapped, rubbing his forehead with his palm, trying to get back on track. "How do you want us to be lost when we were all sleeping in our dormitory? Do you wish to share your thoughts with us, mudblood? Are you hiding something from us?"

The white-faced Gryffindor looked around him, and wouldn't stop turning on himself, expecting something or someone to appear in his back at any moment but Void and grey, cold stone and serpents statues was all he could see. Neville Longbottom, Blaize thought, was making a fool of himself.

"Luna" Granger said with her voice as low as a whisper "you're here."

"Does anyone want to play cards?" the blonde girl asked in return. "I think I might have a set on myself, in one of my pockets, if only I could-" she strangely seemed perfectly fine, enjoying herself even, searching into her pockets.

"Where – are – we? " Theodore cut her off, in utter astonishment, but still trying to act calm and well-reasoned in front of the others.

"Looks like the Chamber of Secrets to me" Draco remarked, his voice halting.

"It's here!" Luna cried out, raising the set for everyone to see. "I found it!".

What the hell was that girl up to? Blaize thought, disconcerted.

"Luna-" Granger murmured, "not the right time."

So it was Luna, he assumed. He could have sworn he had already seen her, but why did she look so familiar? He tried looking at her features, searching for any clue, for anything that might tell him where he had last seen her.. She had long dirty blond hair which was curling down her thin waist, her blue eyes unsettled him for a mysterious reason but he still couldn't take his sight from her heart-shaped face. Luna self-consciously acknowledged his stare and looked him straight in the eye before turning away. It was a weird familiar feeling.

"We might have ended up in a better place than we thought," Draco said. He looked up at the celling and white stoned statues. "The Chamber of Secrets" he stated. 'What a perfect place for us, Slytherins. It feels like home, doesn't it? The great secret of our foundator.Quite impressive. I hope you don't feel too afraid of being in the snake's mouth, you others,' Draco continued, slowly walking around the gloomy room. Blaize followed his childhood friend with his dark eyes, a smirk on his lips. Even in weird situations he didn't have control over, the Malfoy's offspring always found a way to take the upper hand, standing out from the crowd of foolish students.