Where Your Loyalties Lie

Chapter Ten: Accusations

Weeks passed and everything pretty much stayed the same. I was still tormenting my father by glaring at him and calling him Professor Snape when he told me to call him Father. He had given up on punishing me for my actions ever since I yelled at him during my detention. Nobody but the Professors and I knew that he's my father. Also, Ron was still hopelessly in love with me.

It was Halloween and we were at the feast in the Great Hall. I noticed that Harry, Hermione, and Ron weren't sitting at the Gryffindor table and was wondering where they could have been. Finishing dessert, I got up and said to Draco, "I'm gonna go find where the trio went."

"I'll go with you," he offered.

I thought it over for a moment before replying, "OK, but be nice." He nodded and we started our search, finding them at the top of the stairs. We caught up and walked with them. "Hey, you three!"

"Hi Katie!" Ron said cheerfully. "Malfoy." He switched tones to say his name.

"Where have you been? I noticed that you guys weren't in the Great Hall for the feast."

"Nearly Headless Nick's death-day party," Ron answered.

"Spooky. Was it-"

"SHH!" Harry hissed. I gave him a look. What the heck was his problem? "It's going to kill someone!" He ran up some stairs and into one of the corridors on the second floor. We all followed.

"Harry, what are you talking about? What's going to-" I was interrupted again. This time by Hermione.

"Look!" She pointed at writing on the wall.

It read:

The Chamber of Secrets Has Been Opened. Enemies of the Heir, Beware.

I gasped, "Mrs. Norris." Filch's cat was hanging by its tail, frozen stiff. Worse, the feast ended and all the students were heading towards us. They stopped when they saw the cat and writing. Among them was Filch. He pushed through the crowd and saw his cat. I was standing closest to Mrs. Norris so Filch, naturally, blamed me.

"You!" He growled. "You've killed my cat! You murdered her. I'll kill you." He stepped forward and Draco stood in front of me, protecting me. Fortunately Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape arrived at the scene.

"Everyone to your common rooms, except you five," Dumbledore ordered and pointed at the trio, Draco, and I. He walked over and examined the feline. In a few minutes he said, "She's not dead, Argus, she's been petrified, but how I cannot say."

"Ask her! She did it!" Filch shouted.

"Bull," I replied.

"Katie, language," Snape smirked. I gave him a look of 'what the heck' since I didn't swear.

"No second year could have done this. It's very dark magic. Very advanced." Dumbledore told.

"She did it! Her and Potter saw my Kwikspell letter. They know I'm a squib."

I had seen that letter, but only because Harry asked me where Filch was so he could return it. I had no idea why Harry had it.

"I don't even know what a squib is!" I argued.

"It's a person born with no magical powers, but has magical parents," Draco explained.

"Ohhh OK!" I said in understanding. "Well I didn't know that 'til you just explained it. None of us petrified the cat."

"If I might say, Headmaster, maybe these five were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. But we have a set of suspicious circumstances here. I don't recall the Gryffindors of the group to be at the feast, and Katie and Draco had left early," Snape sneered.