"I have completely lost feeling in both of my hands and I smell like polish. This has been the second worst night of my life and I have to repeat it six more times before it is over." I said.

"Second worst?" He asked. "And what was the first?"

I hesitated. I thought he would've been able to guess. "My sister… The werewolf-"

He cut me off. "Merlin, I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry, Celeste. I didn't mean to bring that up."

I shook my head. "It's okay. Call it even for what I brought up at the lake earlier."

He gave me a small smile as we climbed the stairs towards the seventh floor.

We arrived in the correct corridor just before half past eight. We stopped and waited, eyes closed.

A large wooden door appeared amidst the brick wall and Tom pushed it open, allowing me to step inside before him. He entered, pushed the door shut, and it disappeared behind us once more.

The Room was exactly what we had wanted, what we had needed. Almost.

It was decorated much like the common room but it was a bit warmer. There were more leather armchairs as well, and they were all positioned in a large circle. It was the perfect place for a meeting. Save for the fact that it was entirely empty.

"Where is everyone?" I asked.

Tom looked at his watch. "Not sure. They have five minutes to get here."

I sat down in one of the armchairs, tucking my legs underneath me.

Tom sat in the chair beside mine.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked.

"I suppose that depends on exactly what you want to ask." He stated.

I smiled. "Would you like to come home with me over Christmas?"

He looked surprised.

"You don't have to." I said quickly. "I just thought it might be nice. You told me before that it gets lonely here and I'm sure mum wouldn't mind. Dad might take some convincing but I'm sure he'll come around."

"No, I want to. Aren't you worried that Aubry will feel left out?" He asked.

"Her family's coming the day after Christmas. Her parents will be there for a few days but her and Ashton will stay until it's time to come back. Abraxas and Edmond are coming, they do every year. Mum and Dad offered for Orion to come but his parents… Melania is not a fan of my mother. I'm not quite sure she likes me, either. That's why he's been distancing himself from me, from us, recently. His mother insists that we are too old for him to be spending time with and we're setting bad examples. I don't anticipate seeing him here tonight." I explained.

"How did you find this out?" He asked.

"Oh, I didn't. Aubry did." I smirked.

Tom laughed. "I'm not surprised. She could charm a Dementor if she wanted to."

I grinned. "And a second year boy has no resolve whatsoever, especially when compared to a Dementor."

"I wonder if his sister and his cousin have anything to do with his mother's negative view of us…" He said thoughtfully.

I snorted. "Lucretia and Walburga? Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised. I know they both… Support your ideals, in a way. But they're worried about Orion getting into trouble. Although we all know he's more than capable of taking care of himself."

"That may be true. Regardless of who has changed his mind, he is replaceable." He stated.

I nodded. "I would just prefer it weren't necessary to replace him. It's difficult to go scouring the school for people like us. I mean, we'll do it. You know we will."

Then the door opened. I cringed for a moment, some part of me fearing that Dumbledore would somehow come walking through the door.

It was not Dumbledore.

First was Aubry, as usual, followed by Abraxas, Edmond, Ashton, Will, Avery, Nott, then the rest of the boys. Orion was not with them.

Aubry took a seat in the other open armchair beside Tom. Edmond sat next to me, Abraxas was beside Aubry. Will and Ashton sat on the ends of our group, forming what seemed like a barrier between us and the rest of the Knights of Walpurgis. I liked it that way.

Tom turned to Aubry. "Where was everyone?"

"Where weren't they? I had to search the entire damned castle to find Abraxas. We had to hide several times on the way here. Dumbledore is patrolling the halls for some reason. We need to talk after this." She said.

He nodded once before turning to the rest of the group. Everyone fell silent.

"Alright, Lestrange. The floor is yours." He stated.

Edmond straightened up in his chair and cleared his throat.

"My maternal grandmother passed away just before term started. Her and my grandfather have been living in Wales for years now. I missed the first week of classes because we went for the funeral. Apparently she knew Dumbledore, my grandmother did. He was there, probably just to save face." Edmond explained.

"Dumbledore was there?" Tom asked suddenly and then it clicked. "That's why he was gone the other day. He popped in for the funeral and came back."

Edmond nodded before continuing. "Anyways, he was talking to my father when he thought I wasn't listening. He mentioned you, Tom. Dumbledore said that he didn't have a good feeling about you, probably trying to get my dad to convince me to stay away from you. He mentioned Celeste and Aubry too. Mostly you, Cel. He seems to think you're… Problematic. He likes you, Aubry, he thinks you and I need to keep away. He said he's had a stern talking to with Orion, I think he's convinced him to spy. I don't know that we can trust him."

"Orion's a spy?" I asked, enraged. "Where is he right now?! Edmond Lestrange, you tell me where he is right now because I'm going to kill him."

I'd begun to stand but Tom grabbed my wrist and pulled me back into my seat. "Stop. Let him finish."

"I think Dumbledore is concerned. He wants someone to keep an eye on us, especially you and the girls." He said to Tom before turning to look directly at me. "Celeste, he really doesn't like you. He knows you're aggressive, the whole school knows that because we've all seen you on the quidditch pitch. But I think he suspects you're more than that. He wants to like you, I think, since he loves your parents. He told my father you're kind of like them. You're strong and talented and smart but you're vindictive. And Aubry, he thinks you're a risk. A small risk, but a risk none the less. Clearly he has no idea what you can really do. He said you're the smartest witch of our age but he thinks Tom and Celeste have swayed you. He thinks you girls are 'ahead of the times.' He doesn't like how independent and ambitious you are. It's very misogynistic, really. He told my father that you're both a threat by yourselves, but together, you are dangerous."

A snort from the other side of the room drew attention.

Aubry and I were already on our feet, wands out.

"I would be careful, Crabbe." Tom warned. "They are much more than just pretty faces."

"Dumbledore doesn't know anything. They're just girls. What can they do that we couldn't?" Crabbe inquired.

I was shaking.

"Only a fool would believe that Dumbledore is blind to everything going on here. Only a fool would underestimate him. A bigger fool would underestimate my girls." Tom was now standing. "There's a reason I chose them before I chose you, Crabbe. Keep that in mind. They can do more than you would think."

Crabbe and Nott laughed.

Aubry pointed her wand at Crabbe. "Everte Statum."

Suddenly the large boy was hurtling backwards across the room. He stopped when he smashed into the wall and fell to the floor, groaning in pain.

Nott jumped to his feet, pointing his wand towards her.

I flicked my wrist. "Stupefy."

I had underestimated the amount of strength I'd put behind the spell and was surprised to see him crumple to floor, completely unconscious.

Tom's laughter was the only sound in the room. "Beautiful, ladies, absolutely beautiful!"

Aubry and I smiled widely at him.

"Now that you've made your point, go on and fix them." He encouraged.

We sighed heavily. Aubry approached Crabbe and I walked towards Nott.

"Rennervate." I muttered, pointing my wand at his chest.

With a sharp inhale, he sat up. When he saw me standing above him, he scooted backwards immediately, a look of fear on his face.

I heard Aubry say "Episkey" and a cry of pain when Crabbe's nose shifted back into place.

We stalked back to our seats and sat down.

Tom was still smiling.

After the commotion died down and everyone was sitting in their chairs, Tom asked Edmond if there was anything else we needed to know.

He shook his head. "No, not really. Just that he's watching closely. Aubry, he might try to get you to spy like Orion. You have to lie to him. You're the only one here that he would really listen to, for now anyways. Make him think that he's delirious for believing that we would be doing any of this. He's not daft but there's so much going on that he doesn't know, keep it that way."

She nodded. "Absolutely."

Edmond sat back in his chair, signaling that he was finished.

"Thank you, Edmond. Now, unless there's anything that someone would like to add, everyone should be off to bed." Tom said.

No one spoke so he dismissed them.

Will was the first to the door. He pulled it open before quickly shutting it.

"Dumbledore just walked down the opposite corridor." He said.

"Did he see you?" Tom asked.

Will shook his head. "No, he wasn't looking."

"Everyone will leave in pairs. Do not get caught. If you do, lie. No one is to know we were here." Tom said loudly and everyone listened.

Slowly the boys began disappearing in pairs before it was only Tom, Aubry, Edmond, and myself.

"Aubry, you wanna go?" I asked.

Tom shook his head. "She needs to fill me in."

"Oh, I see. Don't forget the thing about the Ravenclaw boy." I reminded.

She nodded. "Right. See you in the common room?"

"Obviously." I smiled.

Edmond and I were about to leave when Tom stopped us.

"When you leave here, take the corridor on the right, the go left. There will be a large, blue tapestry at the end of that corridor. There's a passage that will take you straight to the dungeons and open at the green tapestry just outside the common room. It's dark in the passage so be careful. It's a bit high up, hard to climb into, Edmond, you might have to help Celeste. And I am trusting you to get her back to the common room without incident, are we understood?"

Edmond nodded. "Yes, Tom. I wouldn't think of letting anything happen."

"Good. Run, the prefects will be patrolling soon. It's near curfew."

Edmond offered me his arm and I held his wrist tightly. He lead me out of the room after ensuring the corridor was empty.

We began running and reached the tapestry Tom had mentioned in just a few seconds. Edmond pulled the tapestry away from the wall and surely enough, there was a passage there. The opening was as high as he'd said it would be and I was far too short to get myself in.

Edmond's hands gripped my waist and he lifted me up, allowing me to latch onto the wall and pull myself through. My feet found the floor and he released me before clambering over himself.

When the tapestry fell back into place it was almost pitch black.

I produced my wand. "Lumos Maxima."

Then we could see. The passage was long and dark and it slowly descended. We followed it hesitantly. The dark, confined area made me a bit uneasy so I clutched Edmond's hand tightly as we walked.

I expressed my condolences for the loss of his grandmother and he thanked me with a small smile.

"You really do have to be careful about Dumbledore." He said. "He's going to be watching you closely for a while now. And don't tell Orion anything. Actually, tell him the exact opposite of every single plan you have. Lead him and Dumbledore on some false path. If Tom is at one end of the castle, tell Orion he's at the other."

I smirked. "I'll be sure to do that. If I let Orion keep breathing."

"Tom's right about you and Aubry, you're not just pretty faces." He laughed.

We'd reached the end of the passage and I could see the back of the green tapestry. The opening wasn't as high there and I could step over by myself. I pushed the tapestry away from the wall and Edmond and I snuck out from behind it. We rushed down the corridor and into the common room.

He bade me goodnight before walking up the stairs towards the boys' rooms. I sunk down on the plush leather sofa and waited for Aubry and Tom to return.

(Aubry's POV)

"What do you have for me?" Tom asked when Edmond and Celeste disappeared from the room.

I crossed my legs carefully and turned towards him. "I've been planning times we could go looking for the chamber again. No one is ever in the transfiguration corridor right after dinner, at all. No professors, no students. We can take that corridor straight down right after dinner and no one would be the wiser."

"Really?" He asked, his eyes lighting up a fraction. "Why is no one patrolling?"

I shrugged. "I guess because everyone's eating and they don't anticipate students using the corridor afterward."

"What's your take on what Edmond said?"

"I think he's right. I think Dumbledore is getting uncomfortable close to our trail and we need to stop him. But if he has Orion… We have to be careful, Tom. If Orion is a traitor, who knows who else could be? Surely not Abraxas or Will or Ashton or Edmond. I doubt Avery would pull anything like that. But Crabbe and Nott could be trying to get on Dumbledore's good side. They give him tips and in return, he passes them. It's very possible." I explained. "Perhaps we should keep these meetings more exclusive."

He grinned. "I think you're right, especially that last bit."

"I'll try to find out what everyone else is up to. Letting them run wild when Dumbledore's so keen to spy is too much of a risk."

My stomach growled loudly and I sighed.

"Where were you at dinner?" He asked. "Celeste and I thought you'd ditched us."

"I was in my room. I've taken some notes on where teachers and prefects are at what times. I was going over them so I could tell you." I explained.

He stood up from his chair and offered me his arm. "Come on."

I held his arm lightly. "Where are we going?"

"The kitchens, you need some food." He said.

I smiled. "Thank you."

He shook his head. "Thank you. You're keeping us on track, keeping me on track. And you're doing a beautiful job of it."

I giggled. "I try."

Tom was leading me down an empty corridor when he spoke again. "What you did earlier was impressive."

I blushed. "Thanks. I didn't mean to fly off the handle, I just got angry. I don't like being underestimated."

"I thought Crabbe and Nott would know better." He stated. "Especially after those hexes you used on them second year."

I smiled at the memory. "I told them to stop throwing snowballs and they didn't."

Tom peeked around a corner before tugging me behind him. We were now standing in front of the portrait that lead to the kitchens.

He reached up and with one finger, he tickled the pear. The pear began to giggle and then transformed into a green doorknob. Ashton was right when he told Tom.

He turned the doorknob and pushed it open. As we entered, a small house elf padded towards us.

"Good evening, Mr Riddle, it's very nice to see you." She said.

I smiled at him. "Do this a lot, Tom?"

He winked. "Shhh."

"You must be Ms Desrosier!" She chirped. "You look very much like your mother. Hokey remembers Ms Malfoy very well, you are beautiful like her."

I smiled brightly. "Thank you."

"Hokey, my friend here missed dinner this evening, could you get her something to eat?" Tom asked overwhelmingly sweetly.

Hokey was smiling up at him. "Yes, Mr Riddle."

She turned her wide eyes to me. "What can Hokey get for you, Ms Desrosier?"

"A sandwich and a cup of tea would be lovely." I said.

Hokey nodded and bounded off across the room.

That's when I realized just how large the room was. It was the exact size of the Great Hall and held five tables, each in the same position as the ones in the hall above.

Tom guided me towards what would be the Slytherin table and we sat down. A minute later Hokey came running towards us, holding a plate full of sandwiches, a kettle of tea, and two cups.

She placed in front of us and I thanked her before she disappeared.

"Thank you for bringing me down here." I said, lifting a sandwich from the plate and taking a bite.

Tom smiled. "Anytime. We can't have you going to bed hungry."

He poured us two cups of tea and I thanked him again.

"What do you think we'll find in the chamber?" I asked quietly.

He lifted a sandwich for himself and took a bite. He chewed slowly, thinking the whole time. "I can't be sure. It wouldn't be a dragon, I don't believe. But I think it might be a basilisk."

"Really?" I breathed.

"It's possible. I mean, it is Salazar Slytherin's chamber after all. What better beast than a basilisk?" He shrugged.

"That's why you were so focused on that passage about in your book. You've known for days now." I smiled.

He chuckled. "I didn't think you'd noticed."

I took another bite of my sandwich. "I think we should go looking again as soon as you and Celeste get done with your detentions."

He nodded. "I agree. However, Aubry, I think you might want to hold off some of the times we go."

"Why would I do something ridiculous like that?" I said.

"Think about it, every time you get caught, that's less of a chance you have of becoming Head Girl. This is so important to you and Celeste and I won't be able to cover for you all the time. Eventually Dippet will start giving you detentions and possibly decide you can't be Head Girl. It's vital that you stay in Dippet and Dumbledore's good graces." He explained quickly, his tone firm.

I sighed but nodded. "You're right. But I'm not going to sit back every time you go to do something. I want to be involved, I want to help. I want to be there. If you expect me to just stop going every time, you are sorely mistaken."

I thought he would be angry at the last remark but he just smiled. "There's that attitude."

"Hush."

He wrapped his left arm loosely around my waist and we ate a few more sandwiches and drank our tea.

When we were finished, we stood up to leave. Hokey came running to clear our dishes and I thanked her again before following Tom from the kitchen. We snuck down the corridors and back to the common room in silence.

We entered the common room to find Celeste on the sofa. She'd clearly planned to stay up and wait for us but she'd fallen asleep, her head resting on an open book.

Tom carefully removed the book and replaced it with a plush throw pillow. He shrugged out of his robes and draped them over her sleeping form. She stirred lightly but merely tugged the robes tighter around her shoulders and went still.

He turned to me and whispered. "Off to bed, alright? I'll see you at breakfast."

"Goodnight." I whispered.

"Goodnight, Aubry." He said as I disappeared up the stairs.

AN: Again, I want to say thank you guys so much for reading. Please review. Knowing what you guys think truly means the world to me. I'm going to try to keep updating regularly and I'll let you know if I plan on taking a break of any sort. Thanks again! xx