Cyril sat in the Slytherin common room, a thick, leather-bound book lay open on his lap—"Serpents of Myth and Magic: A Compendium of the Most Enigmatic Beasts"—filled with sketches of legendary creatures, from the whispering Wyrms of the East to the abyssal Leviathans said to slumber beneath the oceans.
Until recently, he had no interest in whatever nonsense was going on with the Chamber of Secrets. Hogwarts was always steeped in some kind of drama, and he had better things to do than stuck his nose in it.
“He really said not my problem.”
But ever since that incident with the girl, things had changed.
That aura.
The last time he felt it was when Voldemort had latched onto Quirrell like a parasite. And now—now it clung to her for a certain period. But now it was not there. He had questions. Alot of them.
Half his mind told him to kidnap the girl and force the truth out of her. He would, if it came to that. But for now, he was content with less violent ways.
“I mean, that’s more his style.” Marlene shrugged.
The Chamber had been opened before. Someone had died. And Cyril was certain of two things—whoever was behind this, Voldemort was pulling the strings, and the monster lurking within the Chamber belonged to the serpent family. He’d heard the hissing. The question was which kind.
"You could hear it too?" Harry nearly shouted, turning to Cyril. His brows drew together in confusion—maybe he was a bit bitter that he was the one who had taken all the blame for this.
Cyril only hummed slightly amused at Harry who was looking as like an angry kitten.
Many wondered if he could also understand it.
"You know parseltongue." It wasn’t a question. Orion studied Cyril intently, as if dissecting him. "That’s not a Black family trait."
“No, it’s not.” That was his answer.
Last time, it had killed. This time, it had only petrified. What had changed?
His eyes flicked up from his book, landing on Draco, who sat nearby, twirling his wand between his fingers in absent thought.
"Draco," Cyril said smoothly, shutting his book with a quiet thud. "Did your father ever tell you where the girl died the last time the Chamber was opened?"
Draco blinked, then frowned slightly, as if sifting through half-remembered conversations. "He did mention about a lavatory," he said after a moment. "She was found dead in it. After that, everyone was afraid to use it."
There was only one lavatory in the castle that wasn’t used—the second-floor girls’ lavatory, he thought.
“Wait a minute. That weirdo, Moaning Myrtle? It was her who died? Damn. And here we always though it was a myth.” Rab mused.
Cyril shut his book with a decisive thud and rose to his feet.
YOU ARE READING
SOLSTICE
Hayran Kurgu"My lord," Cyril hummed in reply. Theo always preferred this title. Theo asked, referring to the future they all would be witnessing, "Are you okay with what tomorrow brings? It's like privacy being snatched away, and secrets won't be secrets anymo...
