"~Parseltongue~"

I was standing in the Room of Requirement trying to think of a happy memory I could use, but I couldn't seem to find the right one.

"Expecto Patronum!" My wand was pointed out in front of me and all it was able to emit was a puff of blue mist before the spell failed all together. I rubbed my temples, unsurprised that I had failed the spell. I have been trying it all day and my only progress was the mist.

My memories obviously weren't happy enough to be able to produce the desired corporeal patronus. It's not like you get many happy memories when growing up in an orphanage.

I've tried using the memory of when I first came here, but that didn't work. I tried one where I used magic for the first time, I tried using when I met the founders, the one where I was able to produce the mist was the one with me making my first friends out of Minerva and Hagrid.

I thought as hard as I could and remembered back to when I was a little girl. I was only about four, and I was digging out presents from under the Christmas tree. I remember unwrapping the gift to reveal some stuffed toy and looking up to smile at my parents. They were sitting on the couch and looking back at me lovingly. My mothers stomach was large, as it was getting closer to my brothers birth date. The memory of all of us still together as a loving family never failed to make me smile.

Gripping my wand I thought hard about that Christmas all those years ago, making sure the memory was clear as I could make it.

"Expecto Patronum" I whispered.

Thick mist exploded out of my wand and gathered into the air. It began stretching and flowing one way before quickly changing its pattern, as if unsure what it was trying to change into before a brilliant blue light burst from inside of the gathered mist. I shielded my eyes until the bright light died down. I looked at where the mist once was but found nothing. I felt disappointed at another failure when I felt something land on my shoulder.

I cautiously looked at my shoulder to find blue talons gripping at my shirt. My eyes traveled further up to find wings and its chest proudly puffed out. Further up was a long hooked beak. I held out my arm and the large bird hopped from my shoulder and onto my forearm.

It's head was examining the room looking for any signs of danger before it slowly faded away. I furrowed my brows in thought. The only bird I knew of that was big enough and had the same type of beak was a bald eagle.

"Expecto Patronum." My voice was firm and this time instead of just a mass of mist the bird burst out of my wand. I watched it soar around the room, looking for any danger, before it faded away once again.

By the way it flew and how it looked I could tell that the bird was, in fact, a bald eagle. I sighed with happiness and relief. Relief because I no longer had to focus so much on trying to perfect my patronus, and happiness because the fact it was an eagle reminded me of America.

I sat on the couch and took out a sheet of parchment. On the sheet of parchment were the things I've wanted to accomplish now that I'm actually at Hogwarts.

To Do:

Learn magic

Make my own Marauders Map

Get a corporeal patronus

Learn occlumency

Become an Animagus

It wasn't a very long list I admit, but those were really the only things I have ever wanted to do or learn if I had the chance to go to Hogwarts. The occlumency was more of a precaution so nobody goes through my mind and finds out I'm from another dimension with the knowledge of a future war.

Another thing I seemed to be getting wrapped up in was trying to figure out what to do with Riddle. We had potions again in a couple hours and I knew he wasn't done questioning me. All the while I'm standing there knowing he's going to grow up and become a dark lord everybody will fear, as well as wondering if he's found the Chamber of Secrets yet.

I checked the time and decided if I wanted to make it to potions I should start heading down there now. I left the RoR and started jogging through the hallways. There was enough time for me to make it down to the dungeons that I didn't need to go through any secret passages.

I made it down to the fifth floor and was walking down the empty corridor when I heard something next to me. It was like something very large, and very heavy, was sliding over the stones of the castle. A voice accompanied the sliding noise.

"~Rip…Tear…Kill…~"

By continuously talking to Salazar and Basil I was able to determine that this voice was definitely speaking in parseltongue. I looked at the wall next to me with wide eyes and fumbled to get my book out of my bag.

"CrossmyhearthopetodietheJesterisheretomystify" I rushed out the words and was never so frustrated to have such a long password.

The book flipped open to reveal the fifth floor. I found exactly where I was standing, but I definitely wasn't alone. In the wall next to me there was a passage way that should have been empty. But instead I found a single name floating over an odd squiggle just sitting in the passage. The name over the squiggle read Anastasia.

Another name on the map caught my eye and I looked to find none other then Annabelle in the middle of the corridor around the corner.

I quickly turned the corner and looked to find her, not standing and walking as I assumed her to be, but laying out on the floor. I closed my book and shoved it into my bag as I rushed over to her still form.

She was laying on her back, one hand in her hair as if fixing it and her other arm outstretched in front of her. In her hand was a little compact mirror and I assumed she had been fixing her hair.

Her eyes were wide open and she was looking into her mirror. I gently shook her and was worried when I received no response. I was quickly starting to panic, sure she was dead, when I heard another sibilant voice right next to my ear.

"~She is still alive Master~"

Hearing the voice so similar to the one from the wall I jumped and whipped my he'd to see Basils head poking out from underneath my shirts collar.

Relief flooded me when I saw it wasn't the Basilisk. "~How can you tell?~" after my question I thought I heard something from the walls again but when I listened for anything else it was silent.

"~I can hear her heart pumping faintly, and hear her blood rushing through her veins.~"

I released a shaky breath, thankful she was alive and a little creeped out by Basil's description. "~Thank you Basil.~" Basils head retracted into my shirt and she wrapped herself around my torso. After a close call with Dumbledore almost seeing her when my sleeve had rolled up I made her stay around my torso instead.

Knowing she was only petrified made me feel a little better, but this answered my question about when the chamber would be opened. I felt kinda bad it was Annabelle, but ever since that morning when she told me to stay away from Hagrid we haven't spoken since.

This also made me realize that the voice I had heard from the wall was most likely the basilisk, and I had been standing right next to it. "~Kin…Blood…~" and the voice I was now currently hearing told me the basilisk was still in the corridor surrounding me and Annabelle.

The bell for classes rang and I knew I wasn't going to be attending potions. Instead I pulled out my wand, "Expect Patronum."

The wispy blue eagle formed on the floor beside me. "Would you able to send a message for me?" He ruffled his wings and bones his head.

"Alright, send this to proffessor Slughorn down in the dungeons." I cleared my throat, "Professor, it's Danielle. I'm sorry for not coming to class but I seem to have stumbled across Annabelle Chamber's…well, I've found her body. But don't worry she's alive! Just kinda, ah, paralyzed?" This was not going as I wanted it to. "I'm going to bring her to the hospital wing–"

I probably would have continued but a loud hiss echoed from the walls. "Shit!" I waved away my eagle patronus and watched it fly quickly down the corridor towards the moving staircases.

I wasn't sure how magic would affect Annabelle while she was in her petrified state, so I wrapped my arms around her waist and hoisted her into a standing position. I steadied her when she threatened to topple back over. Setting my hands on her waist I lifted her until I was able to situate her over my shoulder. The sudden weight almost made my knees buckle, but I determinedly straightened out and shuffled my way down to the Hospital wing.

Down in the dungeons professor Slughorn was walking around his classroom, making sure his students followed the correct steps to successfully make their potions.

He reached the table where his two most successful students were working together to make this potion. He couldn't wait to see how their potion would turn out. Only when he reached the table only one student stood there working on the potion.

"Tom! Where's Miss Abby?"

"I'm not sure professor. Nobody has seen her all morning, she wasn't at breakfast." It was then that a blue form burst into the classroom and flew around the room, gaining everyone's attention before the form landed on the desk I front of Slughorn and next to Riddle.

The eagle ruffled its wings before a familiar female voice emitted from the bird, "Professor, it's Danielle. I'm sorry for not coming to class but I seem to have stumbled across Annabelle Chamber's…well, I've found her body. But don't worry she's alive! Just kinda, ah, paralyzed?" There was a slight pause where Daniella gave a small huff "I'm going to bring her to the hospital wing–" her voice was cut off by a very loud hissing noise that sent shivers down everyone's spine, followed by her exclamation of "Shit!"

The bird then faded away and the class descended into a thick silence. Nobody moved as they forgot about their potions and waited to see what Slughorn would do.

Slughorn cleared his throat, "Alright everyone class will be ending early today, please put a stasis charm over your potions and return to your common rooms." With that Slughorn quickly made his way out of the classroom.

The Gryffindor and Slytherin students made no objections to ending the class early as they made their way out of the class. Each one talking to their friends about what had happened and what that scary hissing noise was.

Out of all the students there was one who quietly broke off from the others. Now alone he narrowed his eyes. He knew exactly what had happened. That Chamber girl had been petrified by the basilisk and Abby had found her in the corridor. Why the basilisk didn't kill Abby, he didn't know, and he didn't like not knowing. Was Abby not a mudblood as well?

Tom Riddle supposed it was a good thing she wasn't killed. After all he thought as he entered the second floor girls bathroom I still have questions for her.

I was huffing and puffing by the time I made it down to the Hospital wing. Not in the mood for knocking I burst through the doors yelling out for "Healer Burns!" (AN: Don't know the actual healers name.)

I quickly went to the nearest bed ant dropped Annabelle's body onto the mattress. "Healer Burns!"

Coming out of her office as quick as she could was the Hospital wing's healer Catherine Burns. Her short grey hair sat atop her head and she looked at me through old brown eyes. You could tell she takes her job seriously and never smiles from the feint frown marks at the corners of her mouth and between her eyebrows.

"What are you doing here?" She snapped, "Shouldn't you be in class?"

"I should be yes, but on my way to class but I found Annabelle in the middle of a corridor up on the fifth floor. I thought she was dead but she's not. It's like she's, I don't know, paralyzed." I knew very well that she had been petrified but I decided not to say anything.

She shooed me away from the bed holding Annabelle and she set to work finding out what was wrong with her, all the while asking me questions.

"Was this the position she was in when you found her?"

"Yes"

"Did you see what did this to her?"

"No"

"Did you do this to her?"

"No!"

Her questions were put to a stop when Dumbledore came into the Wing. "Catherine do you have any–well hello miss Abby, shouldn't you be in class?"

"It seems miss Abby here has found the petrified body of Annabelle Chambers." Healer Burns spoke before I could.

"Petrified?" Dumbledore came further into the Wing and examined Annabelle's body.

Burns turned to me next and cornered me onto a bed before she started running some tests on me. "What are you doing?"

"I'm making sure you are perfectly alright before I can let you go." She replied.

Dumbledore then joined Burns' side and asked, "My dear could I please see your wand?" I handed it to him and he waved his own wand over it before handing it back to me. A sheet of paper appeared in his hand and he read it over, "It seems that the last spell you used was the patronus charm."

I gaped at him, "You think I did this to her?"

He shook his head, "Not at all miss Abby. But you must understand I had to make sure you weren't just saying that to stay out of trouble. Who was the patronus for?"

Answering his question Slughorn burst into the Wing next and rushed over to my bedside. "Oh miss Abby! I got your patronus–very well done by the way–and came as quick as I could!"

I smiled at him, "Thank you professor, but shouldn't you be teaching?"

"I just ended the class a little early today. I had to make sure you were alright, after all."

"Horace," Dumbledore broke in, "it may be wise for Armando to be informed about this. Could you Floo call him?"

Burns led Slughorn into her office where he could use her Floo and she came back out to continue casting spells over Annabelle.

"Will she be alright?"

Burns quickly looked at me but returned her attention to Annabelle, "She should be. I can find nothing wrong with her, and if anything she should be awake right now." She sounded frustrated when she finished her sentence.

Now exiting Burns' office was Slughorn, only this time he was accompanied by headmaster Dippet. "What is going on here?"

"Well headmaster it seems miss Abby has found the petrified body of Annabelle Chamber on the fifth floor on her way to the dungeons." Dumbledore informed him.

"I see, and how is it that you came across her miss Abby?"

"Well I didn't go down to breakfast cause I'm rarely ever hungry to eat anything in the mornings. I was practicing my patronus charm in one of the empty classrooms when I decided to make my way to potions. I was on the fifth floor when I turned a corner and found Annabelle on the ground. I tried shaking her awake but it didn't work. When the bell rang I sent my patronus to professor Slughorn and after that I threw Annabelle over my shoulder and made my way here to the Hospital wing."

Dippet still had more questions, "And you didn't see what caused miss Chambers current state?"

I shook my head, "No" because technically I didn't see anything, I only heard it.

Dippet sighed, "Well then I suppose you are free to go miss Abby."

I thanked all the teachers and swiftly left the Wing. Walking through the halls I needed to find something to pass the time before my next class. I was almost to the wall where I would enter the Room of Requirement when I heard the familiar sliding and hissing sounds.

"~Kin…Master…~"

Hearing the voice I quickly paced in front of the wall and escaped into the one room I knew was the safest in the whole castle.