Part of Your World| D.M., M.R., C.D., H.P., F.W., G.W., and N.L.

Chapter 42- The Chamber of Secrets Has Been Opened

A blood curdling scream pierced through the air and I froze. No no no no. I felt my breath get heavier as Kurayami's words rang through my head.

"...speeding up the process."

"Y/n? Y/n! Earth to Y/n?!" I felt someone's hands violently shake my shoulders before I snapped out of my trance. Hermione looked down at me, concern blatantly written across her face.

"We go to sleep at the same time, so I don't know what's wrong with you..." she muttered softly.

I shot up, earning a gasp of surprise from Hermione, and then another gasp as I quickly jumped out of bed and pushed her aside. Still in my black v-cut nightgown, I raced down the stairs and found myself in the common room. Harry and Ron were already up and sitting by the fireplace, but I sped past them and out the door. I bumped into the twins in the hallway and muttered a hurried apology as I hit both of their shoulders and ran between them.

"Was that Y/n? Is she okay?" I heard Fred say to George, feeling their eyes on me as I ran further and further down the hall.

My thoughts were a blur and my mind was racing too fast for me to hold a single coherent thought. There was only one thing on my mind— who had the snake gotten first?

I raced through the halls with no concept of direction and no idea where I was going. I ran straight into someone's chest, causing me to stop in my tracks, and realized I somehow had managed to make my way down the stairs and near the kitchens—right by where the Hufflepuff dormitory was. And just like in any romance novel, the person's chest I had bumped into happened to be none other than Cedric Diggory's.

Instead of pushing me away, I felt arms wrap around me gently, urging me to calm down and relax. I closed my eyes for a moment and rested my head against his chest, finally letting me heavy and racy breathing settle down. I finally pushed back and looked up into Cedric's warm brown eyes, finding them full of worry.

Cedric released a breath as I took a step back, feeling my face begin to warm. Why the hell had he hugged me? And why did I let him?

"Y/n, are you feeling okay? What's wrong, and how can I help?" he seemed to plead.

"I—" what was I going to say? That I think someone in this large, vast castle may have just been petrified? That I'd heard a blood curdling scream that no one else seemed to have heard? Nothing would make sense to him, and he'd probably only send me to Madame Pomfrey's to get my sanity checked out. I shook my head softly. "Nevermind."

"Please," he begged softly. I turned my back to him and shook his hand away when he tried to grab mine. I felt his eyes bore into my back as I walked down the hall and then finally rounded the corner.

My head was clearer and I could finally listen to my gut feeling. I walked down many halls and up several flights of stairs, following an invisible thread that was pulling my gut towards something; something related to the scream.

Finally, after walking for what seemed like hours but had only been 15 minutes, I felt that the source of the scream was going to be before me the second I turned right and down into the next corridor. I took a deep breath to mentally prepare myself, then I turned.

My hands flew to my mouth in horror at the sight before me.

On the ground, a Hufflepuff, presumably a first year, lay with her mouth agape, eyes wide open, and hand outstretched towards something else that had been hurt; Mrs. Norris. I heard the muffled sound of water dripping slowly onto her head from the ceiling. She was petrified, looking down into the pool of water that had gathered as a result of the mysterious leak. 

I slowly approached the two still bodies and as I knelt down to shake the Hufflepuff girl, a terrifying sight caused me to fall backwards against the wall. Underneath the curly-haired girl a puddle of blood was slowly spreading. My eyes shifted up in horror to the wall in front of me as I read the words inscribed in the poor girl's blood.

"The Chamber of Secrets Has Been Opened"

—————

"She's...gone," Madame Pomfrey announced solemnly. A Hufflepuff girl with straight blonde hair let out a raw, painful scream and broke down in tears. I felt my eyes well up and salty drops of water spilled down my face. This was all my fault. I had provoked the villain too much and I was paying for it. Or more like someone else was paying the price for me.

"How does...how does this even happen?" Madame Pomfrey asked, pulling me away from the bed and letting the girl's friend, Taya Young, mourn over her best friend's dead body.

"On...on th-the wall..." I stuttered, as the memories of the horrifying sight came back and filled me with dread.

"What did you see?"

"'The Chamber of Secrets Has Been Opened.'" I whispered to Madame Pomfrey, and her face went pale.

"I must inform Headmaster Dumbledore immediately."

—————

It was announced that classes had been canceled for the rest of the day, and all the teachers were in an emergency meeting. I hid in the hall, watching for anyone coming out of Dumbledore's office. Once a flood of teachers streamed out and then stopped, I walked over to his office. As I was about to attempt his password, Professor Dumbledore came out himself and said, "Come in."

I followed him silently and tried not to gawk at the room as we entered. It was as grand as ever; filled with books and magical items and all sorts of things people in the "real world" could only imagine. I let out a small gasp as I laid eyes on Fawkes; the animal whose symbol I had used to keep me going in life whenever things got hard.

"So, there must be something you wish to discuss with me?" Dumbledore stated as he slid into his chair and pushed his spectacles up.

I stepped up closer to his desk. 

"Professor Dumbledore, I need your help, I—"

Just as I was about to spill everything to him about the books, me being from another universe, and the imminent dangers, I felt the strong urge to vomit. Not word vomit, but actual vomit.

"Sorry Professor, I just—" gag.

"The nearest bathroom is the prefects bathroom down the hall." He whispered the password to me and then I bolted out of his office, towards the bathroom.

Once I was done, I straightened myself out and walked out of the stall. I gazed in awe at the intricate designs in the bathroom and appreciated how nice the bathrooms were.

The mirror was especially beautiful—crystals outlined it and provided a more natural and prettier glow. I gazed at myself in the mirror awkwardly, wanting to shy away but feeling strangely drawn to the reflective object. I noticed a tiny bit of dried saliva on my face, so I shifted my gaze down to the sink as I splashed my hands in some water and used it to rub off the saliva.

When I looked up again, I was met with a pair of piercing eyes; snake eyes.

Before I could even shout, everything went dark.

A/n: Thanks for reading the chapter!! Sorry for how short it was; life has not been going great recently but I had to give y'all something. Also sorry for the cliffhanger hehehehe

See y'all on insta or whenever the next chapter comes out!