Pariah: The Other Malfoy

Chapter 10: Curiosity Killed the Cat

I breathed out a sigh of relief as soon as I turned a corner and sat down on the floor, trying to stop the tears that were threatening to fall. Was nowhere safe for me anymore? If he could come into Hogwarts and do that without batting an eyelid, what lay in store for me when I returned home?

"Lyra! Harry told me where you'd gone, are you alright?" Tobias asked, rushing towards me from along the corridor.

"I..." that was all it took for the tears to burst forth, my whole body shaking as I sobbed.

I flinched slightly as he sat down beside me, wrapping his arms around me and holding me tightly. He didn't speak, just held me against him as I cried, doing his best to comfort me.

"Sorry," I eventually leant back, wiping my eyes.

"No, don't apologise," he sighed slightly, wiping the blood from my lip, "Let's get you to Madam Pomfrey first. You don't need to explain what happened, I think I can work it out. Your father will get what is coming to him."

I allowed him to lead me to the Hospital Wing, where Madam Pomfrey immediately moved to fuss over me. I was out within half an hour, any injury I had walked in with gone, and Tobias walked with me to a bench outside. I collapsed down, my lip wobbling, and he sat beside me.

"Are you alright, Ly?" He asked and I nodded.

"I am now," I sighed, "Thank you, Tobias. For being there."

"That's what friends do," he squeezed my hand, "Too bad you didn't have to stay in there long enough to skip Lockhart's class."

I laughed slightly, standing with him.

"Let's get this over with," I grinned.

A couple of weeks later it was Hallowe'en.

Lockhart's lessons weren't getting any better and after an incident with some Cornish Pixies, where he left me, Tobias, Harry, Hermione and Ron to put them back in their cage, I was beginning to get more and more convinced he was a fraud. Hermione brushed it off as me still being angry about our first lesson, but Tobias, Harry and Ron agreed with me. Something was definitely off about him.

That Hallowe'en, Harry, Hermione and Ron were unfortunate enough to be invited to Nearly Headless Nick's Deathday Party. From what I knew of Deathday Parties, they would be the only living beings there and would have absolutely nothing to eat as the food would definitely be rotten.

While they were having 'fun' at that, Tobias and I were digging into the Hallowe'en feast at our respective tables.

After the feast, me and Tobias were two of the first people out, communicating across the room so that we could leave together. We stopped dead when we saw Harry, Hermione and Ron standing in front of Mrs Norris, the caretaker Filch's cat, who was hanging on a wall. There was a message on the wall too. It read, 'The Chamber of Secrets has been opened'.

The rest of the school stopped behind us and silence spread quickly.

"HARRY POTTER MURDERED MRS NORRIS!" someone yelled.

No-one liked Mrs Norris, she was always there if you were breaking the rules. She then would disappear to get Filch and you would be in huge trouble - any teacher was better than Filch catching you red-handed. But it still deeply troubled everyone that she was found in such a state.

"What is going on here?" Filch said, coming round the corner, he just thought he had the opportunity to get some more students in trouble. He saw Mrs Norris and stopped dead. He pointed at Harry and yelled, "YOU MURDERED MY CAT!"

Dumbledore and the rest of the teachers rushed over. Shock was written over their faces as they read the writing on the wall, it clearly meant something more serious than we realised. Even Snape seemed taken aback, and he was not one to betray emotions.

"Mr Filch, if you would please calm down!" said Dumbledore, "Prefects! Take your Houses back to their common rooms! Harry, Ron, Hermione... Come with me."

I glanced back at them before following Percy Weasley back to the common room. I hoped they wouldn't get in too much trouble as they were still recovering from the flying car incident. Everyone was talking about Harry 'killing' Mrs Norris but nobody would listen to my friends and I in our defence of him.

Over the next few days, nothing more was really said about the incident. There were whispers, but the threatening looks that teachers sent in the direction of such whispers quickly made them cease. We were all intrigued but knew better than to anger teachers such as Professor Snape.

Filch stalked the corridors, giving detentions to anyone he came across. Reasons he gave included 'breathing too loudly' or even 'looking happy'. Everyone tried to stay out of his way as much as possible, he was on a warpath.

I decided to pluck up the courage and ask the question on everybody's minds one Transfiguration lesson.

"Professor... I was wondering if you could tell us about the Chamber of Secrets?" I asked nervously. The class fell silent, staring expectantly at McGonagall.

She gave me a surprised look before glancing at the rest of the class. Her surprise quickly turned to concern and I could tell she was thinking about how to answer, what the best way to explain this was. How much could a second year class take?

"My subject is Transfiguration, Miss Malfoy," she said, intending to continue with the lesson. I wasn't letting that one go.

"Yes, professor. But there seems to be very little written about the Chamber of Secrets," I said, frowning, "I find that slightly... disturbing."

McGonagall looked amused for a second. She seemed amused that I was determined to get an answer and considered what she would say for a long moment. Finally, she spoke, a small frown on her face.

"Very well," she said, "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. Three of the founders co-existed quite harmoniously. One did not."

"Three guesses who," I heard Ron say but McGonagall didn't heed him.

"Salazar Slytherin wished to be more selective about the students admitted to Hogwarts. He believed that magical learning should be kept within all-magic families. In other words, purebloods. Unable to sway the others, he decided to leave the school," she paused, "According to legend, Slytherin had built a hidden chamber in this castle, known as the Chamber of Secrets. 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 of Secrets 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."

"Muggleborns," breathed Hermione and I felt a pang of guilt. It must have been hard hearing that one of the founders of your school wouldn't have wanted you there.

"Yes. Naturally, the school has been searched many times for such a chamber. It has never been found," McGonagall finished, clearly trying to reassure us.

"Professor, what does the legend say the Chamber contains?" Hermione asked. The class had never been so silent, we were hanging onto McGonagall's every word.

"The Chamber is said to be home to something which the heir of Slytherin alone can control. It is said to be home... to a monster."

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