𝑨𝒎𝒖𝒍𝒆𝒕 - ʜᴊᴘ x ᴏᴄ [𝐌𝐀𝐉𝐎𝐑 𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆&𝐑𝐄𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆]

𝟑𝟔

   ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

ᴄʜᴀᴍʙᴇʀ ᴏꜰ ꜱᴇᴄʀᴇᴛꜱ

   ─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Cassie Black was having dinner in the Great Hall, half-listening to Theo and Daphne argue about Quidditch tactics, when a chilling whisper slithered into her ears.

"Kill. Kill."

She froze, her fork hovering midair. Was that—Parseltongue?

Her gut twisted. It sounded like a snake. And from the way the voice hissed, it wasn't just slithering around for fun. It was hunting.

Before she could make sense of it, dinner ended, and students started filing out toward their common rooms. Cassie shook her head. It had to be a snake going after some unfortunate rodent, right?

Then, as she strolled alongside her fellow Slytherins through the dimly lit corridor, she stopped short.

There, scrawled in what looked suspiciously like blood, were the words:

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘥. 𝘌𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘦𝘪𝘳. 𝘉𝘦𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦

The air crackled with tension as whispers spread through the crowd. Then, as if drawn by some unspoken instinct, every pair of eyes in the corridor turned to her.

Cassie rolled her eyes. "Oh, for Merlin's sake, don't tell me you lot think I did this. My grandfather might be obsessed with bloodlines, but even he doesn't go around leaving ominous death threats in hallways."

Before anyone could reply, Draco stepped forward, a smirk playing on his lips. "Enemies of the Heir, beware? You'll be next, Mudbloods."

Cassie's blood ran cold. It was the second time in a week.

Before she could stop herself, she had Draco shoved against the wall by his collar. "Say that again, Draco. I dare you."

His smirk faltered, but before he could retort, Filch's screech cut through the tension.

"What's going on here? Potter, what are you—"

The caretaker trailed off as his eyes landed on something near the wall. His face drained of color.

Mrs. Norris lay stiff and unmoving, her wide, glassy eyes reflecting the dim torchlight.

"Mrs. Norris! You have murdered my cat! I'LL KILL YOU!" Filch bellowed, lunging toward Harry.

Cassie instinctively stepped back, watching as Dumbledore, flanked by Snape, McGonagall, and Lockhart, appeared at the scene.

"Argus! Argus!" Dumbledore's calm voice broke through the hysteria. He examined the petrified cat, his expression grave as he read the words on the wall.

"Everyone will proceed to their common rooms."

Cassie turned on her heel, eager to be rid of this ridiculous drama, but Dumbledore's voice stopped her.

"Everyone but you four."

Cassie scowled as she, Harry, Hermione, and Ron were left behind. Great. Just what I needed. More unnecessary attention.

"Argus, she's not dead," Dumbledore assured. "She has been petrified."

"But how?" McGonagall asked.

"Ask him!" Filch shrieked, pointing at Harry. "You saw what he wrote on the wall!"

"That's not true, sir! I swear! I never touched Mrs. Norris!" Harry protested.

"Rubbish!" Filch spat.

Snape's dark eyes swept over the scene before he spoke. "If I might, Headmaster, perhaps Potter and his friends were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time." He then turned his gaze to Cassie. "Though I am curious as to why Miss Black is here."

Cassie crossed her arms. "Funny, I was just wondering that myself."

Snape's lip curled slightly. "It is not Black, as I had seen her at dinner. However, the circumstances in Potter's case are suspicious. I, for one, don't recall seeing Potter at dinner."

"That's my doing, Severus," Lockhart interrupted, puffing his chest. "Harry was helping me answer my fan mail."

"That's why Ron and I went looking for him. We just found him when he said—" Hermione cut herself off abruptly.

"Yes, Miss Granger?" Snape prodded, eyes narrowing.

"When I said I wasn't hungry," Harry finished quickly.

Cassie eyed him. He's hiding something.

Dumbledore exhaled. "Innocent until proven guilty, Severus."

Filch wasn't having it. "My cat has been petrified! I want to see some punishment!"

"We will be able to cure her, Argus," Dumbledore reassured. "As I understand it, Madame Sprout has a very healthy growth of Mandrakes. Soon, a potion will be made to revive Mrs. Norris. In the meantime, I strongly recommend caution to all."

Cassie barely contained an eye roll. Caution? What was she supposed to be cautious about?

As they were dismissed, she trudged back toward the common room, Theo falling into step beside her.

"So," he drawled, "any particular reason Dumbledore thinks you're up to no good?"

Cassie smirked. "Isn't that just my natural state?"

Daphne fell in on her other side, brow furrowed. "You heard something, didn't you? Before we saw the writing?"

Cassie hesitated. Admitting to hearing creepy Parseltongue whispers didn't seem like the best move. Instead, she shrugged. "I hear lots of things."

Theo and Daphne exchanged a look.

"You should let us in if you start investigating," Daphne said lightly. "I mean, someone's got to keep you from getting expelled."

Cassie grinned. "You two sound like my personal babysitters."

Theo smirked. "We prefer the term 'damage control.'"

Cassie laughed. Hogwarts was a mess, but at least she had company for the chaos.