Welcome to the next chapter of HP: The Secret Path! Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to read this story, it really makes me happy!

Disclaimer: No ownership of HP. I know, I tried...again. JK Rowling threatened to put a restraining order on me, so I figured I would stop trying. I told her I own the OC's, so she can't take that away from me, at least.

Now, here's...

Chapter 10: Tales and Ideas

Enjoy!

"What's going on here? What's going on?"

Attracted no doubt by Malfoy's offensive shouting, Argus Filch came shouldering his way through the crowd. Then he saw Mrs. Norris and fell back, clutching his face in horror.

"My cat! My cat! What's happened to Mrs. Norris?" he shrieked.

And his popping eyes fell on Harry and Marcus.

"You!" he screeched, pointing at the two of them. "You! You two murdered my cat!"

He then grabbed them by the shirts and yelled, "You two've killed her! I'll kill the both of you! I'll -"

Marcus was about a second away from punching Filch in the face when he heard a commanding voice yell, "Argus!"

Sure enough, Dumbledore had arrived on the scene, followed by a decent number of other teachers. In seconds, he had swept past Harry, Ron, Marcus, and Hermione and detached Mrs. Norris from the torch bracket.

"Come with me, Argus," he said to Filch. "You too, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Mr. Williams, Ms. Granger."

Lockhart stepped forward eagerly.

"My office is nearest, Headmaster - just upstairs - please feel free -"

"Thank you, Gilderoy," said Dumbledore.

Marcus watched as the silent crowd parted to let them pass. He could see the look of fear on the students' faces, how they must've believed that him and Harry were somehow responsible for this horrendous act. He couldn't bear to look at them, only looking to the ground in anger as Lockhart, looking excited and important, hurried after Dumbledore; so did Professors McGonagall and Snape.

As they entered Lockhart's darkened office there was a flurry of movement across the walls. Marucs noticed in time that several of the Lockharts in the pictures dodging out of their sight, their hair in rollers. Marcus frowned in disgust. How anyone could be this conceited was beyond him.

The real Lockhart, meanwhile, lit the candles on his desk and stood back. Dumbledore laid Mrs. Norris on the polished surface and began to examine her. Harry, Ron, Marcus, and Hermione exchanged tense looks and sank into chairs outside the pool of candlelight, watching.

The tip of Dumbledore's long, crooked nose was barely an inch from Mrs. Norris's fur. He was looking at her closely through his half-moon spectacles, his long fingers gently prodding and poking. Professor McGonagall was bent almost as close, her eyes narrowed. Snape loomed behind them, half in shadow, wearing a most peculair expression: It was as though he was trying hard not to smile. And Lockhart was hovering around all of them, making suggestions.

"It was definitely a curse that killed her - probably the Transmogrifian Torture - I've seen it used many times, so unlucky I wasn't there, I know the very countercurse that would have saved her..."

"Yeah, right," thought Marcus. "No spell I've ever read about causes this kind of condition. Whatever, or whoever caused this, it's definitely not natural."

Lockhart's comments were punctuated by Filch's dry, racking sobs. He was slumped in a chair by the desk, unable to look at Mrs. Norris, his face in his hands. As much as Marcus hated Filch, he did feel sorry for him, although not as much as he felt worried regarding their circumstances. If Dumbledore believed Filch, the four of them would have a heck of a time trying to get out of trouble.

Dumbledore was now muttering strange words under his breath and tapping Mrs. Norris with his wand, but nothing happened: She continued to look as though she had been recently stuffed.

"...I remember something very similar happening in Ouagadogou," said Lockhart, "a series of attacks, the full story's in my autobiography, I was able to provide the townsfolk with various amulets, which cleared the matter up at once..."

Marcus looked at him with the deadliest stare he could muster, thinking, "Do you ever shut up, you idiotic buffon?!"

At last Dumbledore straightened up.

"She's not dead, Argus," he said softly.

Lockhart stopped abruptly in the middle of counting the number of murders he had prevented.

"Not dead?" choked Filch, looking through his fingers at Mrs. Norris. "But why's she all - stiff and frozen?"

"She has been Petrified," said Dumbledore. "But, how, I cannot say..."

"Ask them!" shrieked Filch, turning his blotched and tearstained face to Harry and Marcus.

"Oh, come off it!" Marcus said back to Filch. "You're still trying to blame us?!"

Dumbledore held up a hand to silence Marcus and then looked at Filch and said firmly, "No second year could have done this. It would take Dark Magic of the most advanced -"

"They did it, they did it!" Filch spat, his pouchy face purpling. "You saw what they wrote on the wall! Potter found - in my office - Potter knows I'm a - I'm a -" Filch's face worked horribly before saying, "Potter knows I'm a Squib!"

Marcus looked shocked as he thought, "Filch's a Squib?!"

"We never touched Mrs. Norris!" Harry said loudly. "And I don't even know what a Squib is."

"Rubbish!" snarled Filch. "He saw my Kwikspell letter!"

"If I might speak, Headmaster," said Snape from the shadows, making Marcus start to get that bad feeling that this was going to be one of those situations where he had to think fast.

"Potter and his friends may have simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time," he stated, a slight sneer curling his mouth as though he doubted it. "But we do have a set of suspicious circumstances here. Why was he in the upstairs corridor at all? Why wasn't he at the Halloween feast?"

Before Harry, Ron, or Hermione could speak, Marcus said, "That's because he was invitied to attend Nearly Headless Nick's 500th Deathday Party by Nick himself and myself, Ron, and Hermione were invited with him. You can ask any number of the ghosts. I'm sure they can vouch for the four of us."

Snape looked at Marcus and he knew this was going to be a battle of wits.

"But why not join the feast afterward?" Snape asked, his black eyes glittering in the candlelight. "Why go up to that corridor?"

"By the time we were able to leave the Deathday Party, the Halloween Feast in question was nearly over," Marcus "explained". "There wouldn't have been anything left for us. I did happen to make a request to the kitchens earlier that day to leave a small table of the Halloween Feast's food and drinks in the Gryffindor Common Room, in case we ran into that problem. It was lucky that I did, because the party didn't have the best of choices of food to choose from."

Snape narrowed his eyes at Marcus as he asked, "And why the Gryffindor Common Room?"

"Well, if you insist on knowing, Hermione and I planned on helping Harry and Ron finishing that particularly nasty Potions assignment you recently handed out," said Marcus, who was making sure to not sound anything but confident in what he was saying.

"Why, you little -" Snape started to say, but Dumbledore said firmly, "Severus!"

Snape straightened himself, looked at Dumbledore, and said, "I suggest, Headmaster, that they are hiding the truth from us. It might be a good idea if Potter and Williams were deprived of certain privileges until they are ready to tell the whole story. I personally feel they should be taken off the Gryffindor Quidditch team until they are ready to be honest."

"Really, Severus," said Professor McGonagall sharply. "I see no reason to stop the boys from playing Quidditch. This cat wasn't hit over the head with broomsticks. There is no evidence at all that Potter and Williams have done anything wrong."

"Finally, someone that's able to come to the obvious conclusion!" thought Marcus.

Dumbledore gave Harry and Marcus searching looks. There was something about his twinkling light-blue gaze that made Marcus feel like he couldn't hide anything from him.

"Innocent until proven guilty, Severus," he said firmly.

Marcus sighed in relief. Snape, however, looked furious. So did Filch.

"My cat has been Petrified!" he shrieked, his eyes popping. "I want to see some punishment!"

"We will be able to cure her, Argus," said Dumbledore patiently. "Professor Sprout recently managed to procure some Mandrakes. As soon as they have reached their full size, I will have a potion made that will revive Mrs. Norris."

"I'll make it," Lockhart butted in. "I must have done it a hundred times. I could whip up a Mandrake Restorative Draught in my sleep -"

"Excuse me," said Snape icily. "But I believe I am the Potions master at this school."

There was a very awkward pause before Dumbledore turned to Harry, Ron, Marcus, and Hermione and simply said, "You may go."

Without actually running, the four of them proceeded to exit as quickly as they could. They didn't stop until they were a floor up from Lockhart's office, where they turned into an empty classroom and closed the door quietly behind him.

"That," said Marcus, pointing to Hermione, "is how you come up with information in the heat of the moment."

"I've gotta hand it to Marcus, Hermione," Ron said, "That was a brilliant story he came up with."

Marcus looked to Harry, who looked worried.

"Harry, what's the matter?" asked Marcus.

"D'you think I should have told them about that voice I heard?"

"No," said Ron and Marcus immediately. Ron then continued, "Hearing voices no one else can hear isn't a good sign, even in the Wizarding World."

Harry then asked, "You guys do believe me, don't you?"

"Of course we do, Harry," said Marcus. "But - even you have to admit it's weird..."

"Like having eyes acting on their own?" asked Hermione.

"Huh?" said Marcus.

"Back in the dungeons, I saw your eyes," said Hermione. "They looked like the color of pure gold, the entirety of your eyes."

"Not just my irises?" asked Marcus.

Hermione nodded her head, which caused Marcus to say, "Well, it's not like I understand everything myself. This is all pretty weird, to say the least."

"And what was that writing on the wall?" Harry asked. "The Chamber Has Been Opened...What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing good, if tonight was any indication," said Marcus.

"You know, it rings a sort of bell," said Ron slowly. "I think someone told me a story about a secret chamber at Hogwarts...might've been Bill..."

"And what on earth's a Squib?" said Harry.

At this question, Marcus couldn't help but smirk while Ron had to stifle a snigger.

"Well - it's not funny really - but as it's Filch," said Marcus.

"A Squib is someone who was born into a Wizarding family but hasn't got any magic powers," Ron explained. "Kind of the opposite of Muggle-born wizards, but Squibs are quite unusual."

"If Filch's trying to learn magic from a Kwikspell course, it's pretty obvious that he's a Squib. It actually explains a lot," Marcus told Harry.

"Like why he hates students so much," said Ron.

Marcus and Ron then looked at each other with satisfied looks on their faces as they simultaneously said, "He's bitter."

Marcus then heard a clock chime somewhere in the distance.

"Midnight," said Harry. "We'd better get to bed before Snape comes along and tries to frame us for something else."

Marcus found himself, once again, at the top of Azkaban, in the Dark Prince's prison cell. He was lost in thought when he touched his left index finger to his right shoulder.

"Yes, what is it?" he said.

It was silent for quite some time. A twisted smile formed on his face as he said, "Ah, I see. Very interesting. Any casulaties?"

Silence was prominent for a few seconds before the Dark Prince said, "Well, all's well that ends well, I suppose. Though, this is definitely not the end. Should this happen in the future, notify me at once."

He then released his index finger from his shoulder and said, "Well, looks like that little push was all it took to get the ball rolling. Emotions are so easy to play with, it's rather laughable. Ah, well. I guess the only question remains now is what will happen when he starts putting the pieces together. I guess only time will tell."

He then went backing to his own thoughts as everything faded to black...

For a few days, the school wasn't talking about anything else but the attack on Mrs. Norris. Filch kept it fresh in everyone's minds by pacing the spot where she had been attacked, as though he thought the attacker might come back. Marcus had saw, to his sheer annoyance, him attempting to scrub the message off the wall with Mrs. Skower's All-Purpose Magical Mess Remover. Luckily, it had no effect; the words were still gleaming as brightly as ever on the stone, which was good for him. He still wanted to investigate the scene in question, and it wouldn't do him any good if the scene was disturbed in any way.

When Filch wasn't guarding the scene, which was hardly at all, he was skulking red-eyed through the corridors, lunging out at unsuspecting students and trying to put them in detention for things like "breathing loudly" and "looking happy."

Ginny Weasley seemed very disturbed by Mrs. Norris's fate. It came as no surprise, considering her love for cats, as he found out over the summer.

"But you haven't really got to know Mrs. Norris," Ron told her bracingly. "Honestly, we're much better off without her." Ginny's lips trembled as Ron assured her, "Stuff like this doesn't often happen at Hogwarts. They'll catch the maniac who did it and have him out of here in no time. I just hope he's got time to Petrify Filch before he's expelled. I'm only joking -" Ron added hastily as Ginny blanched.

The attack also made Marcus swallow his pride and he decided to write a letter to his parents. So, that next Wednesday, he sat down in the front of the Library and wrote:

Mom, Dad,

This is probably a while overdue, but I need to tell you guys something. There was an attack here at Hogwarts. Before you freak out, no one's dead, but Filch's cat is now Petrified, though no one knows how. But, oddly enough, that's not the weird part. Right before the attack happened, my eyes acted on their own. They flared up in power, and it was excruciatingly painful, but I was able to see everything, albeit completely inverted. I need to know what exactly is going on with my eyes that would cause something like that to happen.

-Marcus Williams

He then called Archie using his owl whistle he acquired over the summer. In two minutes, Archie came landing on his left, holding his leg out. As Marcus was tying the letter to his owl's leg, he said, "Now, make sure this goes straight to either Mom or Dad, all right? I'll make sure to have some treats ready for you when you return."

As he saw Archie take off, he made his way into the Library, but didn't take three steps when he heard, "So, Lorelei, have you heard the latest rumors?"

He hid himself behind the nearest bookshelf as he heard her voice say, "Oh, goodness. Not another rumor."

"I know, I shouldn't," said the first voice. "But, it's about Harry Potter and Marcus Williams."

That got his attention. He started to listen intently as Lorelei said, "Don't tell me, everyone thinks Harry Potter's the Heir of Slytherin?"

"Aw, you're no fun," said the first voice. "But, everyone thinks that Marcus Williams has something to do with the attack, too. After all, he was at the scene with Potter and everything."

Hearing this made his blood boil. Were people so idiotic that they would believe the first conclusion that came to them?!

It then utterly surprised him to hear Lorelei say, "I don't think that's how it is at all. From what I saw, they were simply at the wrong place at the wrong time. Besides, there was nothing on them to actually prove their connections to the attack."

"Well, I have to admit, you're right," said the first voice. "But, it still doesn't change the fact that Williams is so mysterious."

"I'm sure he has his reasons," he heard Lorelei say. "Besides, from what I found out, he's really a nice, kind, and intelligent person. I just wish I was able to talk to him."

This statement made his heart drop. Was it really that obvious?

"Well, good luck with that," said the first voice. "You're going to need it."

He then heard enough. He made his way to the back of the Library, where he found Ron measuring his History of Magic homework parchment along with Harry.

"I don't believe it, I'm still eight inches..." said Ron furiously, letting go of his parchment, which sprang back into a roll. "And Hermione's done four feet seven inches and her writing's tiny."

He then noticed Marcus and asked, "And how were you able to write five feet of parchment?!"

"Simple," said Marcus. "I pay attention in class."

This earned him a dirty look from Ron as Harry asked, "Where is she?"

"Somewhere over there," Ron replied, pointing along the shelves. "Looking for another book. I think she's trying to read the whole Library before Christmas."

Harry then told Ron and Marcus about Justin Finch-Fletchley running away from him earlier.

"That's awfully strange," said Marcus. "Surely, he wouldn't run away from you without a good reason."

"Dunno why you care either way, Harry. I thought he was a bit of an idiot," said Ron, who was making up for his lack of space requirement on his homework by writing as big as he possibly could. "All that junk about Lockhart being so great -"

Marcus then saw Hermione emerging from between the bookshelves, looking quite irritable and ready to talk to them for the first time in a while.

"All the copies of Hogwarts, A History have been taken out," she said, sitting down next to Harry and Ron. "And there's a two-week waiting list. I wish I hadn't left my copy at home, but I couldn't fit it in my trunk with all the Lockhart books."

"Why do you want it?" Harry asked.

"The same reason everyone else wants it," said Hermione, "to read up on the legend of the Chamber of Secrets."

"What's that?" said Harry quickly.

"That's just it. I can't remember," said Hermione, biting her lip. "And I can't find the story anywhere else -"

"Believe me, I've read that book inside and out, and there wasn't much to go off of in the first place," Marcus thought with great irritation.

"Hermione, Marcus, let me read your compositions," said Ron desperately, checking his watch.

"Definitely not!" said Marcus, who hurried up and stuffed his History of Magic homework in his bag.

"You've had ten days to finish it, Ronald Weasley," Hermione said, sounding severe.

"I only need another two inches, come on -"

The bell rang and Ron and Hermione led the way to History of Magic, bickering as usual.

History of Magic was, by far, the dullest subject on the schedule. Professor Binns, who taught the class, was their only ghost teacher, and the most exciting thing that ever happened in his classes was his entering the room through the blackboard. Ancient and shriveled, many people said he hadn't noticed he was dead. He had simply got up to teach one day and left his body behind him in an armchair in front of the staffroom fire; his routine had not varied in the slightest since.

Today was no exception to the expectations of the class. Professor Binns opened his notes and began to read in a flat drone like an old vacuum cleaner until nearly everyone in the class was in a deep stupor, occassionally coming to long enough to copy down a name or date, then falling asleep again. He had been speaking for half an hour when something happened that Marcus had never seen before: Hermione put up her hand.

Professor Binns, glancing up in the middle of a deadly dull lecture on the International Warlock Convention of 1289, looked amazed.

"Miss - er -?"

"Granger, Professor. I was wondering if you could tell us anything about the Chamber of Secrets," said Hermione in a clear voice.

The effect was immediate: Nearly everyone who had dozed off suddenly awoke, suddenly alert to what was going on.

Professor Binns blinked before responding in his dry, wheezy voice, "My subject is History of Magic. I deal with facts, Miss Granger, not myths and legends." He cleared his throat with a small noise like chalk snapping and continued, "In September of that year, a subcommittee of Sardinian sorcerers -"

He stuttered to a halt as Hermione's hand was once again waiving in the air.

"Miss Grant?"

"Please, sir, don't legends always have a basis in fact?"

Professor Binns was looking at her in such amazement, most likely because no student had actually ever bothered to stay awake, let alone interrupt him in the middle of class.

"Well," said Professor Binns slowly, "yes, one could argue that, I suppose." As he peered at Hermione as though he head never seen a student properly before, he continued, "However, the legend of which you speak is such a very sensational, even ludicrous tale -"

But there was no denying the class's interest in the subject as everyone was hanging onto his every word. He looked dimly at them all, every face turned to his. He was cleary thrown off by the amount of attention he was getting because of this.

"Oh, very well," he said slowly. "Let me see...the Chamber of Secrets..."

"Now, this should be interesting," thought Marcus.

"You all know, of course, that Hogwarts wass founded over a thousand years ago - the precise date is uncertain - by the four greatest withces and wizards of the age. The four school Houses are named after them: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. They built this castle together, far from prying Muggle eyes, for it was an age when magic was feared by common people, and witches and wizards suffered much persecution."

He paused for a few second to gaze around the room before continuing, "For a few years, the founders worked in harmony together, seeking out youngsters who showed signs of magic and bringing them up to the castle to be educated. But then disagreements sprang up between them. A rift began to grow between Slytherin and the others. Slytherin wished to be more selective about the students admitted to Hogwarts. He believed that magical learning should be kept within all-magic families. He disliked taking students of Muggle parentage, believing them to be untrustworthy. After a while, there was a serious argument on the subject between Slytherin and Gryffindor, and Slytherin left the school."

Professor Binns paused again, this time to purse his lips.

"Reliable historical sources tell us this much," he said. "But these honest facts have been obscured by the fanciful legend of the Chamber of Secrets. The story goes that Slytherin had built a hidden chamber in the castle, of which the other founders knew nothing. Slytherin, according to the legend, sealed the Chamber of Secrets so that none would be able to open it until his own true heir arrived at the school. The heir alone would be able to unseal the Chamber of Secrets, unleash the horror within, and use it to purge the school of all who were unworthy to study magic."

As he finished telling the story, there was silence. But, it wasn't the usual, sleepy that that would normally occupy the room. No, this was a silence of unease and anticipation as the students looked to Professor Binns to learn more. He looked faintly annoyed at this.

"The whole thing is arrant nonsense, of course," he said. "Naturally, the school has been searched for evidence of such a chamber, many times, by the most learned witches and wizards, It does not exist. A tale told to frighten the gullible."

Marcus then saw Hermione's hand shoot into the air like a muggle rocket.

"Sir - what exactly do you mean by the 'horror within' the Chamber?"

"That is believed to be some sort of monster, which the Heir of Slytherin alone can control," said Professor Binns in his dry, reedy voice.

As the class exchanged nervous looks, Marcus had the feeling that things were about to spiral out of control.

"I tell you, the thing does not exist," said Professor Binns, shuffling his notes. "There is no Chamber and no monster."

"But, sir," said Seamus Finnigan, "if the Chamber can only be opened by Slytherin's true heir, no one else would be able to find it, would they?"

"Nonsense, O'Flaherty," said Professor Binns in an aggravated tone. "If a long succession of Hogwarts headmasters and headmistresses haven't founded the thing -"

"But, Professor," piped up Parvati Patil, "you'd probably have to use Dark Magic to open it -"

"Just because a wizard doesn't use Dark Magic doesn't mean he can't, Miss Pennyfeather," snapped Professor Binns. "I repeat, if the likes of Dumbledore -"

"But maybe you've got to be related to Slytherin, so Dumbledore couldn't -" began Dean Thomas.

At this point, Marcus thought, "3, 2, and 1..."

"That will do," Professor Binns said sharply, clearly showing that he had enough of the subject. "It is a myth! It does not exist! There is not a shred of evidence that Slytherin ever built so much as a secret broom cupboard! I regret telling you such a foolish tale! We will return, if you please, to history, to solid, believable, verifiable fact!"

And, in five minutes flat, the class had sunken into the normal, sleep-heavy atmosphere.

"I always knew Salazar Slytherin was a twisted old loony," Ron told Harry, Marcus, and Hermione as they fought their way through the teeming corridors at the end of the lesson to drop off their bags before dinner. "But I never knew he started all this pure-blook stuff. I wouldn't be in his House if you paid me. Honestly, if the Sorting Hat had tried to put me in Slytherin, I'd've got the train straight back home."

"If the Sorting Hat had put me in Slytherin like it wanted to, I would've torn that stupid thing apart right on the spot," Marcus said.

"What?!" Ron, Harry, and Hermione said as they looked at Marcus.

"That was exactly my reaction before I threatened to tear it apart," said Marcus in a matter-of-fact tone. "It put me in Gryffindor in the end, so all's well that ends well."

All of a sudden, Marcus heard a familiarly unwanted voice saying, "Hiya, Harry! Hiya, Marcus!"

As soon as he saw it was Colin Creevey, Marcus and Harry automatically said, "Hello, Colin."

"Harry -Harry - a boy in my class has been saying you're -"

But Colin was so small that, compared to the tide of people coming his way towards the Great Hall, he stood no chance. Marcus heard him squeak, "See you, Harry, Marcus!" before he disappeared.

"What's a boy in his class saying about you?" Hermione wondered.

"That I'm Slytherin's heir, I expect," said Harry, who had an unpleasant look on his face.

Marcus's anger rose as he heard Ron say in disgust, "People here'll believe anything."

As the crowds thinned and the four of them started climbing the next staircase without difficulty, Ron turned to Hermione and asked, "D'you really think there's a Chamber of Secrets?"

"I don't know," she replied, frowning. "Dumbledore couldn't cure Mrs. Norris, and that makes me think that whatever attacked her might not be - well - human."

Marcus knew for sure that, whatever it was that attacked Mrs. Norris, was not human. After all, when his Negative Vision came to him instantly, without warning, the shape he saw was no human form he'd ever seen, but he just couldn't figure out what exactly it could be. He could only make out a cyndrilical shape at best, with no definitive form of human or beast.

As Hermione finished speaking, they turned a corner and found themselves at the very corridor where the attack had happened. And, as luck would have it, Filch wasn't standing guard like a goblin at Gringotts. Marcus formed a smirk on his face, knowing that this would be the perfect time to investigate.

"That's where Filch has been keeping guard," Ron muttered.

"And now he's not," said Marcus. "This would be perfect to try and get some more clues. What do you guys say?"

They looked at each other before Harry said, "Can't hurt to have a poke around."

Immediately, Marcus made his way to the message on the wall, standing on the chair before enhancing his vision.

"Well, from what I can tell, it's blood, but not human blood," Marcus thought as he saw different shades of colors from the bloody message. "Must be an animal's blood."

Marcus heard Harry say, "Scorch marks!" He then saw them point and say, "Here - and here -"

"Scorch marks, huh?" Marcus said out loud. "Why would there be scorch marks?"

"Come and look at this!" said Hermione. "This is funny..."

Marcus looked to where Hermione pointed, to the topmost pane of the window next to the message. He the saw around twenty spiders scuttling, trying desperately to get through a small crack. A long, silvery thread was dangling like a rope, as though they had all climbed it in their hurry to get outside.

"It looks like they're fleeing," Marcus noted. "But from what?"

"Have you ever seen spiders act like that?" said Hermione wonderingly.

"No," said Harry. "Have you, Ron? Ron?"

Marcus looked to Ron, who was standing quite a distance away and looked like he had half a mind to run.

"What's up?" said Harry.

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

"I never knew that," said Hermione, looking at Ron in surprise. "You've used spiders in Potions loads of times..."

" I don't mind the dead," said Ron, who was carefully looking anywhere but at the window. "I just don't like the way they move..."

Hermione giggled while Marcus said in a voice that was disbelieving, "Really, Ron, you have arachnophobia?"

"Hey, it's not funny!" Ron said fiercly. "If you must know, when I was three, Fred turned my - my teddy bear into a great big filthy spider because I broke his toy broomstick...You wouldn't like them either if you'd been holding your bear and suddenly it had too many legs and..."

As Ron broke off, shuddering at the though, Marcus said, "Okay, I take it back. I can definitely see why, now."

"Hey, remember all that water on the floor?" Harry asked a little too quickly. "Where did that come from? Someone's mopped it up."

"It was about here," said Ron, recovering himself to walk a few paces past Filch's chair and pointing. "Level with this door."

Marcus walked up with Ron and waited for him to open the door, but instead saw him withdraw his hand from the brass knob, like he burned himself.

"What's the matter?" Marcus asked.

"Can't go in there," said Ron gruffly. "That's a girls' toilet."

"Oh, Ron, there won't be anyone in there," said Hermione, standing up and coming over. "That's Moaning Myrtle's place. Come on, let's have a look."

She then opened the door, completely ignoring the out of order sign.

Marcus had seen a lot of bad bathrooms in his life, but Moaning Myrtle's bathroom had to take the cake: A large, cracked mirror with chipped sinks, a damp floor that reflected the dull light from the stubs of a few candles, and the wooden stall doors, all flaking, scratched, and even one hanging on it's hinges. It looked like something that would be described from a horror novel, and that was putting it nicely.

Hermione put her fingers to her lips and set off toward the end stall. When she reached it she said, "Hello, Myrtle, how are you?"

Harry, Ron, and Marcus went to look. Moaning Myrtle was floating above the tank of the toilet, picking a spot on her chin.

"This is a girls' bathroom," she said, eyeing Ron, Harry, and Marcus suspiciously. "They're not girls."

"No," Hermione said in agreement. "I just wanted to show them how - er - nice it is in here."

She waved vaguely at the dirty old mirror and the damp floor.

"Ask her if she saw anything," Harry mouthed at Hermione.

"What are you whispering?" said Myrtle, staring at Harry.

"Nothing," said Harry quickly "We wanted to ask -"

Marcus facepalmed himself as Myrtle choked, "I wish people would stop talking behind my back! I do have feelings, you know, even if I am dead -"

"Myrtle, no one wants to upset you," said Hermione. "Harry only -"

"No one wants to upset me! That's a good one!" howled Myrtle. "My life was nothing but misery at this place and now people come along ruining my death!"

Marcus, having enough of this situation, took a few steps forward and said in a commanding voice, "Myrtle, have you seen anything funny lately, specifically from the night of the attack? The attack did take place right outside your door, after all."

Mrytle looked at him curiously before dramatically replying, "I wasn't paying attention. Peeves upset me so much I came in here and tried to kill myself. Then, of course, I remembered that I'm - that I'm -"

"Already dead?" said Ron helpfully.

Marcus, once again, facepalmed himself as Myrtle gave a tragic sob, rose up in the air, turned over, and dived headfirst into the toilet, splashing water all over Harry, Ron, and Hermione, Marcus having dove out of the way in time, and vanishing from sight. However, based on the direction of her muffled sobs, Marcus reasoned that she had come to rest somewhere in the U-bend.

Marcus then saw Hermione shrugging wearily and saying, "Honestly, that was almost cheerful for Mrytle...Come on, let's go."

They had barely closed the door on Myrtle's gurgling sobs when a loud voice made the four of them jump.

"RON!"

Marcus looked to the source of the voice to find Percy Weasley stopped dead at the head fo the stairs, prefect badge agleam, and expression of complete shock on his face.

"Oh, great," Marcus thought. "The last person besides the teachers I wanted to have found us."

"That's a girls' bathroom!" Percy gasped. "What were you -?"

"Just having a look around," Ron shrugged. "Clues, you know -"

Marcus saw Percy swelling in a manner that reminded of Mrs. Weasley over the summer, which wasn't pretty.

"Get - away - from - there -" Percy said, striding toward them and starting to bustle them along, flapping his arms. "Don't you care what this looks like? Coming back here while everyone's at dinner -"

"Why shouldn't we be here?" said Ron hotly, stopping short and glaring at Percy. "Listen, we never laid a finger on that cat!"

"That's what I told Ginny," said Percy fiercely. "but she still seems to think you're going to be expelled, I've never seen her so upset, crying her eyes out, you might think of her, all the first years are thoroughly overexcited by this business -"

"You don't care about Ginny," said Ron, whose ears were now reddening. "You're just worried I'm going to mess up your chances of being Head Boy -"

"Five points from Gryffindor!" Percy said tersely, fingering his prefect bade. "And I hope it teaches you a lesson! No more detective work, or I'll write to Mum!"

And he strode off, the back of his neck as red as Ron's ears.

The four of them chose seats as far as possible from Percy in the common room that night. Ron's mood was still terrible, which was showing in his attempt to do his Charms homework. He kept blotting the parchment and when he reached for his wand to fix the blotches, it instead caught it on fire. When this happened, Ron slammed The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 2 shut. To Marcus's surprise, so did Hermione.

"Who can it be, though?" she said in a quiet voice, as though continuing a conversation they just been having. "Who'd want to frighten all the Squibs and Muggle-borns out of Hogwarts?"

"Let's think," said Ron in mock puzzlement. "Who do we know who thinks Muggle-borns are scum?"

He looked to Marcus, who knew exactly what he was talking about.

"You honestly think it's Malfoy?" Marcus asked him.

"Of course I do!" said Ron. "You heard him - You'll be next, Mudbloods!' - come on, you've only got to look at his foul rat face to know it's him -"

"Malfoy, the Heir of Slytherin?" said Hermione skeptically.

"Look at his family," said Harry, who closed his own books, as well. "The whole lot of them have been in Slytherin; he's always boasting about it. They could easily be Slytherin's descendants. His father's definitely evil enough."

"They could've had the key to the Chamber of Secrets for centuries!" said Ron. "Handing it down, father to son..."

"Well," said Hermione cautiously. "I suppose it's possible..."

"It's more laughable than anything else," said Marcus. Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at him as he said, "I really don't think it's Malfoy. If it was him, there'd already be another attack or two. However, I think we all suspect that a Slytherin in this school is doing this."

"But how do we prove that?" said Harry darkly.

"There might be a way," said Hermione slowly, dropping her voice further with a quick glance across the room at Percy. "Of course, it would be difficult. And dangerous, very dangerous. We'd be breaking about fifty school rules, I expect -"

"If, in a month or so, you feel like explaining, you will let us know, won't you?" said Ron irritably.

"All right," said Hermione coldly. "What we'd need to do is to get inside the Slytherin common room and ask Malfoy a few questions without realizing it's us."

"But that's impossible," Harry said as Ron laughed.

"No, it's not," said Hermione. "All we'd need would be some Polyjuice Potion."

"What's that?" said Ron and Harry together.

Marcus, however, knew exactly what she was talking about. His eyes got a bit wider in realization and he said, "Oh, right, the Polyjuice Potion! Snape mentioned it a few weeks ago in class!"

"D'you honestly think we've got nothing better to do in Potions than listen to Snape?" muttered Ron.

"It transforms you into somebody else, Ron," said Marcus. "Just think about it! The four of us would be able to look exactly like four Slytherins and they wouldn't be any of the wiser. Malfoy would probably tell us anything. I bet he's talking about it in the Slytherin common room right now, if only we could hear him."

"This Polyjuice stuff sounds a bit dodgy to me," said Ron, frowning. "What if we were stuck looking like three of the Slytherins forever."

"It wears off after a while," said Hermione, waving her hand impatiently. "But getting hold of the recipe will be very difficult. Snape said it was in a book called Moste Potente Potions."

"And a book like that is bound to be in the Restricted Section of the library," said Marcus grimly.

Marcus knew that the only way a student was able to get a book out of that section was if a teacher gave said student a signed permission note, which was hardly at all.

"Hard to see why we'd want the book, really," said Ron. "if we weren't going to try and make one of the potions."

"I think," said Hermione, "that if we made it sound as though we were just interested in the theory, we might stand a chance..."

"Oh, come on, no teacher's going to fall for that," said Ron. "They'd have to be really thick."

"Actually, Ron, I can think of one teacher," said Marcus, holding up his index finger. "And only one..."

And that concludes Chapter 10 of HP: The Secret Path! Please feel free to leave a review, tell me what you think! If you have any questions, leave me a PM and I will do my best to answer any questions that you have. Until then, stay alert for the next chapter of HP: The Secret Path!