Draco Malfoy and the Chamber of Secrets (BOOK 2 of 7)

Chapter 6-Suspicions

In Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall had just turned her bird into a water goblet. This was met with impressed faces, including that of Draco's. Draco almost burst out laughing when McGonagall chose Weasley to perform the task first, and actually did laugh when he failed, ending up with a hairy cup with a tail handle.

"That wand needs replacing, Mr. Weasley," McGonagall said.

Draco looked around the room and saw that Granger already had her hand up. Surprisingly, she asked about the Chamber of Secrets.

Even more surprisingly, the professor agreed to answer.

"Well, very well. Well, you all know, of course, that Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago by the four greatest witches and wizards of the age: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. Now, three of the founders coexisted quite harmoniously. One did not. Salazar Slytherin wished to be more selective about the students admitted to Hogwarts. He believed magical learning should be kept within all-magic families. In other words, 'purebloods. Unable to sway the others, he decided to leave the school. Now, according to legend, Slytherin had built a hidden chamber in this castle, known as the Chamber of Secrets. Though, shortly before departing, he sealed it until that time when his own true heir returned to the school. The heir alone would be able to open the Chamber and unleash the horror within, and by so doing purge the school of all those who, in Slytherin's view, were unworthy to study magic."

"Muggle-borns and squib-borns," Granger said.

"Well, naturally, the school had been searched many times. No such chamber has been found."

"Professor? What exactly does legend tell us lies within the Chamber?"

"Well, the Chamber is said to home to something that only the Heir of Slytherin can control. It is said to be the home of a monster."

Weasel turned around to look at Draco who sneered in return. The trio must have suspected Draco of being the heir. Ridiculous!

He walked out of class with Blaise asking him, "Do you think it's true? Do you think there really is a Chamber of Secrets?"

"I don't know," Draco said, "but the teachers seem a bit worried."

"Who could the heir be?"

"I don't know that either." Draco was about to tell Blaise that Potter was hiding something when he remembered that Blaise and Potter had once been friends. Instead, he voiced, "What doesn't make sense is why McGonagall keeps insisting that there's no chamber. Obviously, no one but the heir can find and open it, so no one else would know its location."

"That is strange, but I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens."

Later that day, Draco was in the library with the rest of his year when he heard some meddlesome people talking.

"Here it is. 'The Polyjuice Potion. Properly brewed, the Polyjuice Potion allows the drinker to transform himself temporarily into the physical form of another.'"

That must've been Granger. He'd gotten used to that annoying voice answering so many questions in class.

"Do you mean, if Harry and I drink that stuff, we'll turn into Crabbe and Goyle?" That sounded like Weasley.

"Yes," came the reply.

"Wicked! Malfoy'll tell us anything."

Like anyone would be that thick, Draco thought. 

"Exactly. But it's tricky. I've never seen a more complicated potion."

"Well, how long will it take to make?"

Ahh, Golden Boy Potter.

"A month."

"A month? But, Hermione, if Malfoy is the Heir of Slytherin, he could attack half the Muggle-borns in the school by then."

Draco wondered why they were being so ridiculous about this. He obviously couldn't have done it.

"I know," he heard Granger say. "But it's the only plan we've got."

So in a month, they would be after him. But how would he know exactly when? Draco decided not to worry about that. Back in his bed that night, he wondered if his father knew what the chamber was. Of course, it'd be stupid to question him about it. But if Draco could figure out what his father had to do with anything, then perhaps he could come up with something.

There was that diary. Draco knew that it had gone to Ginny Weasley. She was an eleven year old girl, so she would probably write in it. According to his father, the diary would write back. Inside the diary (not literally) was someone called Tom Marvolo Riddle. Draco remembered that his father had written "I am a follower now" so that must've meant that Tom Marvolo Riddle was Voldemort's real name.

What about the diary? What would it do to Weaslette? She would probably use the diary like a normal diary, and it was likely that Riddle would reveal himself as Tom, not Voldemort. His father had talked about having to give the diary to an innocent pureblood close to Harry Potter.

She was his best friend's sister, pureblooded (even if not the same pureblooded type as families like Draco's), and was new to Hogwarts.

SO WHAT?

Draco was frustrated. He knew exactly what was going on yet he didn't know anything. He looked at it from a different perspective. Why was Potter hearing voices that no one else could? Well, it took that one question for Draco to end up at a dead end. Would Draco have to wait until Potter and Weasley visited him as Crabbe and Goyle?

Draco didn't realize that he would learn some things very soon.

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