star shopping ✰ d.m.

CHAPTER SIX

A week later, Arabella was serving her detention with Professor McGonagall. When she had arrived, McGonagall had told her she would be writing I shall not curse my fellow students over and over until she couldn't anymore. Four hours later, she was finally let go, as Arabella's hand had cramped so much she couldn't even move it anymore.

Not long after leaving Professor McGonagall's office, Arabella ran into Harry in the corridor, who had been serving detention with Professor Lockhart.

"All right, Harry?" she asked.

"Yeah," he answered. "What's wrong with your hand?"

She realized she had been holding her stiff hand and nursing it and let it fall limply at her side. "Nothing. Just sore, really. It'll be better in the morning."

Just then, Harry seemed to be hearing something. He began to look around in fear, then put his ear to the wall.

"Harry?"

"Shh!"

He started to run down the corridor and Arabella followed, confused and concerned. They ran until they found Ron and Hermione, who had been looking for them.

"Did you hear it?" Harry asked them.

"Hear what?" Ron asked.

"That voice."

"Voice? What voice?" Hermione asked.

"Did you hear anything?" Harry asked Arabella.

"No," she answered, still confused.

"I heard it first in Lockhart's office. And then again just-" He paused. "It's moving. I think it's going to kill." He began to run again.

"Kill?" Ron and Arabella asked at the same time.

"Harry, wait! Not so fast!" Hermione called after him.

They ran until they reached the end of the corridor at which point it split off in two directions. This new corridor's floor was wet. Harry walked to a window just a few feet away, and the others followed him. He stopped and stared, and what Arabella saw scared her. There were lots of spiders walking in single-file through a hole in the window.

"Strange," said Harry. "I've never seen spiders act like that."

"I don't like spiders," Ron said.

"Me neither," Arabella agreed. "They're awfully creepy."

Just then, they all saw something out of the corner of their eyes. They looked down at the water on the floor and saw words reflected onto it. They looked up at the wall and saw a message.

Hermione read it aloud. "'The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir, beware.' It's written in blood."

"Oh, no," Harry muttered. He had just seen what was hanging underneath the words. "It's Filch's cat. Mrs. Norris."

The caretaker's beloved feline was hanging by her tail where a torch should have been. Her mouth was wide open as if caught in mid-meow, and she was as stiff as a board. Arabella gasped and covered her mouth with her hands.