Misfits, Voices and Secrets

October announced its arrival with heavy storms and raindrops the size of acorns. Both Slytherin and Gryffindor Quidditch team were pushed very hard by their Captains in preparation of their first match of the season- against each other. It became a common sight to see exhausted, mud-splattered students wearing red or green and disgruntled expressions.

It was not out of the ordinary to see Ginny and I, rain-drenched and clutching broomsticks after practicing in the fields as well- Ginny had kept her word from the time on the train and was helping me fly, after the official lessons with Madam Hooch went slightly awry (I managed to fly into a stone wall in an extremely undignified manner and woke up in the Hospital Wing a day later). Under Ginny's training, I was improving. Well, except that time gravity and the broom had a disagreement and I somehow found myself with a face full of grass and a broken nose…of course, Ginny didn't tell anyone what I managed to get into during the lessons.

A few people were not pleased with Ginny helping me, such as Percy Weasley, her brother. His reason was one I thought was nice of him- he was worried that his younger sister would catch a cold from all that time in the rain. After forcing her to drink a Pepper-Up Potion, resulting in Ginny's face becoming very red and steam coming out of her ears, he left us alone.

Others disliked it as a matter of what Aquila labeled as 'House Pride'. I did not know how Soren Fox tripping me in the corridors every chance he got was helping Gryffindor. Well, I suppose it made them laugh…I was side entertainment for hungry lions. After the elder Slytherins knew this, Soren often was prevented from approaching me due to the way my Housemates seemed to mysteriously appear whenever he began to start on me. He stopped paying me any mind, asides from a few nasty looks. I started helping other Slytherins that were being bullied, along with others who had been doing it for years to help younger Housemates (usually from other spiteful Gryffindors- it seemed to be a trend) until they could fend for themselves. Aquila, Cassy and Katrina did it as well, one of them joining me and one or two older students as we kept a lookout for anything. There had been doubts about me helping (I listened, pretended I didn't hear, and went anyway), but a liking was taken to me when they found that I was a quick learner and a decent spellcaster when I put my mind to it. Sometimes we had to be sneaky about helping- Slytherins were a prideful lot. A few, however, had no such qualms about accepting help, such as a girl named Bridget Liv, who taught me a few very nice hexes that weren't taught at Hogwarts for certain reasons.

And so, I settled in to life away from Hogwarts, beginning to think of it almost as something like a second home.

Soon enough, it was time for Halloween- and the feast that accompanied it. I smiled as I entered the Great Hall. The teachers had really outdone themselves this time. Live bats screeched above us, giant carved pumpkins leered down and skeletons were dancing in the sidelines. It all looked very splendid in the candlelight. I smiled through a mouth of beans, and then scanned the room for Ginny and Luna's reaction to the grandeur. To my surprise, neither of them were present. Giving a longing look at my plate, I got up.

"Be right back," I murmured. Aquila gave me a questioning look but let it go.

As I left the Great Hall, I looked around. Where could they be? Why would they miss the- what is that? As I came closer, I saw a small figure lying on the floor- with red hair. Ginny! I ran over and knelt down, right in the water- the water? I saw something strangely red reflected in it…slowly I looked up.

I could not prevent the soft gasp that escaped me when I saw the sight. Foot high, bloody words had been daubed on the wall between two windows, shimmering in the light of the torches. It read in all capitals- "THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE." Below it, a mangy cat that was looking terribly stiff was hanging from a torch bracket. I shivered. If cats could look terrified…

With what felt suspiciously like dread creeping in my stomach, I looked down at Ginny's hands. They were covered in red that matched the words on the wall, and cat's hair was sticking to them.

And if it wasn't a bad time already, I heard Luna's voice behind me. "Jynx? Why are you in the puddle? You're getting awfully wet." I shook my head, trying to clear it. I had to make a choice- leave Ginny here and get out before the feast ended and we were caught, or drag her away and hide.

Well, the latter was a Gryffindor thing to do…and the first was what a stereotypical Slytherin would do. I set my jaw. You didn't have to be Gryffindor to do a nice thing once in a while. Besides, Ginny would owe me after this- that could be useful. Choice two it was.

I got up, gripping Ginny's limp arms. "Could you please grab her ankles?" I asked Luna, emotions back under control and usual placid smile in place. "I'll answer questions later."

Luna did so without comment, but I saw through the vagueness in her eyes to the sparks buried in the silver depths. "Where are we going?"

"The girls bathroom."

"What happened to her?" Moaning Myrtle asked gleefully.

"Bad things," I replied cheerfully. "Besides that, I don't-" I paused. "What was that?"

"I don't hear anything," Myrtle informed me.

"Me either," Luna said. "Perhaps there is a Wrackspurt around?"

It was logical. I waved my arms in an attempt to bat the little things off. Even so, I didn't think Wrackspurts whispered, "Soo hungry…for so long…"

Well, back to the matter at hand. Ginny seemed to be waking up. I looked at the red on her hands, and the cat hair, and made a decision.

I grabbed Luna's hand and yanked her into a stall. Myrtle followed, and I motioned for both of them to be silent. Standing on the seat of the toilet, I peeked over the edge of the door. Ginny was standing up now, eyes wide and strangely glassy. She didn't see me. Instead, she turned around to face the sinks. What was she doing?

I wasn't particularly enlightened when she said, in a voice very unlike her own, "OPEN," either. Or when the sinks separated, revealing a long, snaking tunnel deep into the ground…

I glanced at Luna, who was peeking through the crack in the door. Myrtle had disappeared somewhere.

Suddenly, I heard from the voice I still did not think had anything to do with Wrackspurts, " I smell blood…I SMELL BLOOD!"

And I could've sworn I saw Ginny jump into the hole and into the dark just before my vision went black.

The first thing I saw when I woke up was the fact Luna wasn't wearing any shoes.

"Oh, you're awake!" Luna smiled at me dreamily. "I was wondering how long it would be. It's around midnight, you know. "

I nodded. "Did you see what happened?"

"Oh, I couldn't see much through the door. I did hear quite a bit of hissing, though."

Hissing?

"You did hear Ginny say, 'open', though, didn't you?" I asked.

"Oh, no. Ginny was the one hissing, I think. "

I decided it was time to change the subject. "Why are you not wearing shoes, Luna?"

Luna wiggled her toes. "That's the reason I missed the Feast. I've lost my shoes. I suspect Nargles may be behind it- you know how mischievous they can be- but if it's not them, it's the other Ravenclaws. They think I'm odd, you see. I'm called Loony Lovegood behind my back, though they aren't very good at keeping it a secret."

My cousin's voice had become a little higher at the end of her speech. I patted her shoulder sympathetically. I had my Housemates to save me from bullies, but who was there to help Luna? I took off my shoes- they were my favorite pair, but I thought that my cousin needed them more than I did. I gave them to her.

"Here. Take my shoes."

Luna rewarded me with a smile. "Thank you, Jynx."

I hugged her. "I have an idea. You're definitely clever- I've seen you in classes. Why else would you have been Sorted into Ravenclaw? Why, you're wonderful at Transfiguration. I bet you could transfigure just about anything into, say, something you couldn't manage to replace or find at the moment-" Luna got where I was going with this. I didn't have to say anymore. "Well, we better get going. It's far past curfew."

I could've sworn I saw Luna sigh. I suddenly noticed that she still had her bag, filled with her textbooks, on her shoulder. "Sleep in the Slytherin Dormitory tonight," I suggested. "You have all your books for tomorrow. You can just wear my tie and hide your badge, just in case anyone is in the Common Room. No one will notice."

"Thank you for the offer, but I don't think I will."

It was my turn to sigh, and I nodded. I had known that would be her answer…

"See you tomorrow, then."

She waved, and we split ways.

As I went down the corridor, I once again heard voices. These, however, were young, and were coming from an empty classroom. I crept forward and peered through, and was greeted by the sight of three second year Gryffindors- a tall redhead, a girl with masses of thick brown hair, and a slight, black-haired boy with glasses. I recognized them immediately as Ginny's brother, Ron, a very clever witch by the name of Hermione Granger, and Harry Potter.

What were they doing? I listened in, not able to help myself.

Harry was saying, "-do you think I should have told him about that voice I heard?"

Ron replied with, " No. Hearing voices no-one else can hear isn't a good sign, even in the wizarding world. "

There was something in his voice that seemed off, and Potter apparently heard it, as well. "You do believe me, don't you? "

"'Course I do. But- you must admit it's weird…"

I pulled back from the door. I had heard enough. So Harry Potter heard voices. I wonder if any of them announced that they were hungry and smelled blood?

The next day, I took it upon myself to wake everyone up. Despite the fact that I had been the last one to sleep, I was up at dawn and was ready to go before anyone else had stirred.

Well, fine. They'd be stirring soon enough.

"Cassy! " I shook her shoulder. "Wake up!"

She groaned. "Five more minutes, Spinky…"

Spinky? I giggled and decided to try Aquila. "Aquila, it's time for breakfast!"

She buried her head in her pillow, with a muffled, "Spinky, it can't possibly be time to wake up yet. "

What the heck was a Spinky?*

I had more success with Katrina- she agreed that she'd get up, but then fell asleep again once my back was turned.

In other words, my roommates were not morning people. So, I used a very handy spell I had seen my mother use once to dump them on their heads. They woke up after that.

After much yelling from Katrina, mumbling from Aquila, and very loud, incoherent noise that sounded suspiciously like garbled swear words from Cassy, we managed to get downstairs to the Great Hall.

"How can you be so bloody cheerful?" Cassy demanded. "How is it even humanly possible?"

I just smiled.

They all calmed down once they had food on their plates, Katrina shoveling it in her mouth so fast that Aquila looked rather sick. The two twins began their usual constant banter and they were in the middle of arguing about the personality of Draco ("Ugh, do you hear what they say about him? Slytherin Prince- can you imagine anyone worse to hold that title? He's an embarrassment-" "Cassiopeia, he must have been very clever to earn that name in such a short time-" "If he's so clever, why did he make enemies with the most famous person his age? " "Well-") when Katrina decided there were more interesting to talk about (she was absolutely right). "So, what do you think about that whole Chamber of Secrets business?"

Honestly? I thought they had something to do with the voices I, and possibly Harry Potter, was hearing that no one else could hear, as well as why Ginny suddenly had knowledge on the unknown tunnel network under the school.

Of course I wouldn't say that. They didn't even know I had seen it, since I had left early. I pretended to be confused, asking, "Chamber of Secrets? "

"That's right," Cassy realized, "you went off somewhere. There was a message written on the wall announcing that the Chamber of Secrets had been opened, and that enemies of the Heir had to watch out. And Mrs. Norris-" That must've been the cat I had seen- "was apparently petrified and hung underneath it. No loss there, but Filch is going to be in an even worse mood now." Filch? Oh, yes- the man who was always yelling at me because I tracked mud in after flying. He didn't like me very much. Cassy continued. "Did you know he accused Potter of killing his precious little kitty? Because they had left the Great Hall early and were the first ones to see it."

Cassy was a very useful source of information, even if she didn't realize it. She turned to Aquila. "We were taught about the Chamber of Secrets, weren't we? You were probably paying better attention than I was."

Aquila looked slightly exasperated. "Of course I was. Someone has to make up for your poor performance."

"I resent that! I was listening, but you're better at telling things than I am."

Aquila ignored her. "Now, the Chamber of Secrets. It was rumored to have been created by Salazar Slytherin himself, to house a monster only certain people of his descent could control. No one knows who the monster is, of course, except for Salazar and his Heirs. The Chamber's location is unknown, as well. To many, it was a myth- a myth for the Slytherins to use to frighten the mud- excuse me, muggleborns, as the whole reason for the monster was to purge the school of all of those without magic blood. There have been reports of the Chamber supposedly being opened, the last time being about fifty years ago. A mu- muggleborn was killed. Afterwards, the Heir was supposedly caught. "

Cassy was looking at Aquila oddly.

Katrina asked, "If it really has been opened, though, the Slytherins are safe, right?"

"Most of us, yes," Aquila replied. She snuck a look around her, and then lowered her voice. "But we do have a mudb-" Cassy coughed. "-muggleborn in our year. " Katrina, Cassy and I followed Aquila's gaze to a small boy whose black eyes contrasted with his almost-white hair. I remembered him from the first night- he had been the most vocal about his wonder of the Slytherin Common Room. Nobody seemed to like him very much. Now I knew why.

"What's his name?" I asked.

"Gaile," To everyone's surprise, it was Katrina who had the answer. " Peter Gaile. People have been giving him a hard time." She frowned. "It's not right. If we can't depend on our Housemates, who can we depend on? No one from other Houses really likes us." Now I knew something about Katrina. She had a kind heart.

"Let's invite him over!" I piped up. Before anyone could object, I got up and walked over to Peter. His head snapped up, and he stared at me with a startled look on his face. I smiled at him, and said, "Hello, Peter. Would you like to sit with my friends and me?" He was looking at me like I had for heads and a forked tongue. I reached down, grabbed his hand, and half walked, half dragged him over to where my friends were sitting.

Aquila was eyeing the people around us as Peter and I sat down. "Jynx, you do realize everyone is staring at us?" she hissed.

"Let them stare, " Katrina said gruffly. Cassy gave Peter an awkward smile. He looked like he was in shock. I patted his head and kept eating.

After a few minutes of silence, Peter seemed to snap out of it. "Is this a joke or something?" He asked, sounding suspicious.

"I do not joke," I assured him gravely. "And if I do, I promise I'll tell you that it was supposed to be funny."

Peter looked less than reassured.

"She's always like this," Cassy told him, voice low and amused. "Usually stranger." Oh, they were talking about me!

I munched on my toast.

Aquila leaned in close to Peter, and whispered something I knew I wasn't supposed to hear, but I did anyway- "If you dare give her any shit about it- " her voice became menacing, " I'll curse you six ways to Sunday."

Peter swallowed nervously. I was very touched. And surprised- I hadn't known that Aquila cared so much. And it was the only time I had ever heard her swear.

I thought about it, and came to the conclusion that perhaps Aquila didn't care exactly about my being insulted- just that in a way, if one insults your friend, they are insulting you. And Aquila didn't stand for insults.

Or perhaps I was being overly- well- Slytherin- and Aquila was just more of a true friend than I had thought.

It didn't really matter too much, anyway.

I listened in on Aquila and Cassy's muted conversation. "That was…a different way of telling about the Chamber of Secrets than Mama told us," Cassy said. "Thank you."

Aquila gave a little half-shrug. "I thought it would be better if they learned the unbiased version."

Ah. Of course. Conservative pureblood family… Mum vowed she'd never teach me that sort of thing. Even though I am pureblood.

…I think I am, anyway.

*By the time you find out what "Spinky" is, you'll probably have forgotten there was ever mention of it before.

A/N: OK, feel free to hate me. TTwTT I had this on my computer or a while, edited and ready...anyway. I'm watching HP 5 right now. I LOVE BELLATRIX. And LUNA. And SNAPE. And LUCIUS... AND BELLABELLABELLABELLA!

THANK YOU: Winter's Children, yeizhi, Rainglyph13. Luffs ya!