Kassandra Bauer and the Chamber of Secrets. (Book 2)

Chapter 7: I regret my decision.

What was I thinking? 

The rest of the school was looking forward to the Halloween Party, and we would get... Nick's Deathday Party. I heard that Dumbledore even got dancing skeletons for the entertainment. 

But maybe the Death Day Party would be fun. At least I had Harry, Ron, and Hermione with me. My best friends. And a promise is a promise. And I have to honor that based on the Laws of Xenia. You can't violate that. For those not aware, the Laws of Xenia follow as: The respect from host to guest, the respect from guest to host, and the parting gift from host to guest. It doesn't go well if you violate these laws. Like Paris did to Menelaus. And by saying that I would be there, I had to obey the Laws. Or risk the wrath of the Gods.

So it was that at 7:00pm. The Four of us walked straight past the doorway to the packed Great Hall. And towards the Dark Dungeons. It wasn't really cheerful. The candles were long thin and all burning a dim ghostly light. It was like going into an ancient crypt. And if felt cold. Like I walking through the River Styx. There was also another sound. Like fingernails on a blackboard.

"Is that supposed to be music?" Ron asked. We turned a corner and saw Nick standing at a doorway hung with black velvet drapes.

"My dear friends." Nick said mournfully. "Welcome, welcome, so pleased you could come." 

"We said we would." I replied. I could see the Dungeon filled with pale ghosts drifting around a crowded dance floor. And they were all waltzing to a dreadful sound of thirty musical saws. It was the most depressing thing I think I've ever seen in my life. It felt like stepping into a freezer. As far as I knew. We were the only humans here. 

"Shall we have a look around?" Harry asked. 

"As long as we don't walk through anyone." Ron replied. 

I passed through a group of ghosts as they were all throughout the dance floor. I felt so out of place here. I just knew it. 

I also could see the other House Ghosts were there as well. And I was really careful not to go through them. 

"Nick got more humans I see." I heard a voice call me from the side. He was by the food on a long table in black velvet. Thank the Gods. I was starving. 

"I'd be careful if I were you. That food's rotten." The voice warned.

"Huh?" I asked. And I looked more closely to see that voice whoever it belonged to wasn't wrong. The food was all rotten. With Large Rotten Fish. Cakes burnt black, a slab of cheese covered in green fur. It made me want to throw up. "Malaka. Wh-What is this?!" 

"They let it rot to give it a stronger flavor so the Ghosts can smell it." The Voice explained. 

"Okay, who's speaking?" I asked.

"You don't remember me? Bauer?" The Ghost had appeared right in front of me. He had short hair and a Slytherin Robe on him. "Before the Siege." 

"The Siege? As in... Wait a minute." I thought about it for a second. Then I remembered. "Devon, Asher?"

"Duncan Ashe." The Ghost corrected. "But you got the initials right. Not bad. I was Jacob and Lizzie's best friend back in the day." 

"Well... I'm-" I tried to introduce myself. 

"I know who you are, Kassandra. You're the Bauer's Adopted Sister." Duncan interrupted. 

"What are you doing here?" I asked. 

"Enjoying the Death Day Party." Duncan answered. "Honestly, it gets annoying to have to keep talking to just Moaning Myrtle in the Bathrooms." 

"Who's Moaning Myrtle?" I asked.