Ancient Magician (Severus x Reader)

Chapter 29: Legend of the chamber of secrets

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𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳 2 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 29: 𝘓𝘦𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘴

"𝘑𝘦 𝘮'𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘴"

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For days afterward, the only thing anyone at Hogwarts could talk about was the attack on Mrs. Norris. Whispers echoed through corridors and over dinner plates in the Great Hall. Every little creak of the castle seemed to make someone jump. Even Peeves seemed more subdued, though I suspected that had more to do with Filch's mood than any fear on Peeves' part.

Filch, in particular, made sure the whole castle stayed on edge. He could be found at all hours pacing in front of the wall where Mrs. Norris had been strung up like some dreadful decoration. His eyes were puffy and red, and he muttered to himself in a voice so low it sounded like the rumble of distant thunder. I once saw him on his knees, scrubbing furiously at the wall with Mrs. Skower's All-Purpose Magical Mess Remover, but the message – The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir, beware – still shimmered coldly on the stone as though it had just been painted.

When he wasn't haunting the site of the crime, Filch roamed the halls with renewed vengeance, lurking in shadows and corners like some grim wraith. He leapt out at students for ridiculous offenses—"breathing too loudly," "smiling too much," "walking with intent to misbehave." No one was safe from his grief-fueled fury.

Ginny, poor thing, seemed especially shaken. She jumped every time a door creaked or someone raised their voice. Ron noticed too.

"She's been acting weird ever since it happened," he murmured to me one morning at breakfast, eyeing his sister as she picked at her toast. "Says it's because she's mad about cats. Loved that ugly furball."

Ginny shot him a wounded look. "She wasn't ugly."

Ron made a face. "Come on, Gin, you've obviously never been caught under her glare while trying to sneak out after curfew. Honestly, we're better off without her."

Ginny's lip trembled, and I elbowed Ron sharply.

"Don't say things like that," I scolded him under my breath. "Can't you see she's upset?"

"She's not the only one!" Ron hissed back. "That cat's been after me since first year."

"Still," I said firmly, "it's not the time for jokes."

He raised both hands in mock surrender. "Alright, alright. No more jokes about Mrs. Norris. Even though Filch might be the next target—"

"Ron!" I cut in sharply as Ginny paled and dropped her spoon with a clatter.

"I was joking!" he insisted quickly. "Just joking!"

"Well, it's not funny," I muttered, reaching for my pumpkin juice and giving him a glare.

Hermione had been acting differently, too. She was always studious, sure, but lately she'd been practically living in the library. Even during meals, she buried her nose in a book, barely eating anything. Whenever we asked what she was working on, she would brush us off with a vague "just revising" or "reading ahead."

It wasn't until the following Wednesday that I finally got a better idea of what she was up to.

I had been held back after Potions Sev —Snape said the tubeworms I'd diced had made a mess on the desk, and he made me stay behind to scrub the slimy residue off with nothing but a rag and a look of disdain.