Chapter 14

Beverly had left to break up with Mitch. She was gone a very long time, but she had warned Alicia that she may feel like taking a walk after her break-up.

Alicia was humming to herself as she turned on the television. She loved this muggle invention.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Only one person didn't use the doorbell.

Alicia opened the door.

Mitch was standing in front of her. He wasn't smiling like usual. Instead, he looked at Alicia with disgust and said:

"We need to talk."

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Alicia wanted to speak but her lips were suddenly very dry and her tongue felt heavy.

"Okay." She managed to say at last.

Mitch walked into the house without waiting for Alicia to invite him in.

"You probably know why I'm here." Mitch said as he turned to face Alicia.

Alicia could feel her heart beating harder under Mitch's cold stare. She knew exactly why Mitch had come but she wouldn't let him know that. She gave him a surprised look.

"No, I don't." she lied, but her voice betrayed her emotions. Mitch snorted.

"Of course you do. Beverly just broke up with me."

Alicia raised her eyebrows and tried to look sorry for him. She even reached out to stroke Mitch's arm to comfort him but he backed away, as if her touch was going to burn him.

"Look, Mitch, I understand that you may feel a bit down right now, but that's not a reason for you to be mean to me!" Alicia said. She was hurt and she suddenly felt worried. What if Beverly had let it slip that it was because of her that she was breaking up?

" Beverly broke up with me because you asked her to." Mitch said.

Alicia felt like someone had slapped her in the face. Mitch had never spoken to her like that. His voice was icy, his face showed no trace of amusement like it used to. Alicia felt scared. She had felt frightened in her life before but this was a different kind of fear. She was scared she was going to lose a friend. This had never happened to her before because Alicia had never had friends she really liked. And now it seemed like her friendship with Mitch was coming to an end.

"No, I didn't!" Alicia denied it. But it was no use.

"Alicia, stop lying to me! I know the truth!" Mitch shouted. He wanted to grab Alicia and shake her, slap her, hurt her. Anything.

Mitch needn't worry. Alicia had already been hurt. She wasn't sad because Mitch had shouted at her. No, she had expected that. What made her sad was the fact that Mitch hadn't called her 'Ali'.

"Did Beverly tell you I'm the cause of your break-up?" Alicia asked.

"No, but I'm not stupid, Alicia. Beverly and I were happy together! We spend nearly every night together! It was perfect. We had agreed to stay in contact. And then you came and you destroyed it all!" Mitch didn't cry but Alicia recognized pain when she saw it.

"Did you really love her?" Alicia wanted to know. She spoke calmly.

"That's not the point, Alicia. You're a nice kid but you have many flaws. Unlike the other guys in the neighbourhood, I have been able to look upon those flaws. But I can't anymore, Alicia. You've crossed the limit."

"Did you love her?" Alicia repeated again.

"Alicia, I told you that's not the point!" Mitch cried.

"Why aren't you answering my questions?"

"I don't know the answer myself. I thought I loved her but I was never sure. That day when we explored your attic, I saw something in the mirror." Mitch said. He looked away, as if ashamed by what he had revealed.

"You saw something in the mirror?" Alicia said frowning. She wondered what that had to do with their conversation.

"You may think I'm crazy but I swear I saw something else than my own reflection." Mitch snapped.

"I believe you."

There was silence. Alicia was burning to know what exactly Mitch had seen in the mirror but she didn't dare ask him.

"Anyway, Alicia, the reason why I came here is to tell you what I think. I can't be friends with someone like you." Mitch said.

"But, Mitch, surely we can find a way to fix this!" Alicia said desperately.

"I don't think so. I don't want to see you anymore or speak to you. Maybe one day we will be friends again. Maybe one day you will be able to swallow your silly pride and apologize to me. But I doubt you can do that."

Alicia didn't answer. She couldn't apologize.

"I knew you didn't have enough courage." Mitch spat angrily. "Well, this is goodbye then."

He walked away.

Once he was out of sight, Alicia closed the door calmly and sat down against it. Only when she was sure nothing moved into the house did she let herself go. She let out a loud scream of pain that echoed in the whole house.

In the house next door, Mitch was sitting in his own bedroom. He was holding his football ball. He was thinking about all the days he had spend with Alicia.

A tear rolled down his cheek.

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Alicia had calmed down after a while. Her frustration had been replaced by a strange sort of determination. She was now in her bedroom: the door was locked so Beverly couldn't come in and surprise her.

Alicia went to her wardrobe and hissed:

"Morla, come out."

The snake's head popped out of a pile of socks.

"What happened, my dear?" the snake hissed in the language of serpents.

"Mitchell shouted at me." Alicia said. She was no longer going to use the nickname 'Mitch'.

"Tsssss, how dare he?" the snake hissed angrily.

"Don't worry, Morla, we'll get our vengeance. In two days we're going to be back at Hogwarts. We will at last be able to search for the chamber of secrets. And then the real fun will begin." Alicia said. She realised she was turning back into her old self. Mitchell had changed her character completely. Maybe it was time to go back to who she used to be.

"I can't wait to taste human blood." Morla said greedily.

"You won't be disappointed." Alicia replied. She grinned innocently.

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Ginny Weasley was worried. She knew her daughter very well. She had noticed the change in Alicia, and she had been happy about it. Alicia had acted like a much better person lately. She had been nicer to everyone around her, she had laughed more often. She hadn't even said a word about the baby.

But now, as Ginny watched her read in the corner of the room, she could see her daughter change back to what she used to be.

Whatever had happened hadn't done Alicia good.

Ginny stroked her belly and sighed. She loved Alicia but she couldn't ignore the fact that her daughter was different.

Ginny knew what Alicia was capable of. She had known it since Alicia's birth.

When Alicia had opened her eyes for the first time, Ginny had immediately guessed that this was not going to be an easy child to handle. And she had been proven right almost every day.

Ginny wasn't sure whether she was imagining it, but she thought she could see a strange light in Alicia's green eyes.

Ginny Weasley shivered.

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Once again, Alicia found herself on King's cross, on the platform nine and three quarters.

Her parents had left her and so had Beverly who had gone to join her Gryffindor friends. But Alicia wasn't alone. She was surrounded by her Slytherin friends. Peter was always on her side. Alicia suspected him to have a crush on her. Then there was Frank. He was Peter's best friend. Alicia liked him because he was shy and sweet. But most important he knew very dark spells: he had been born in one of the darkest families that still existed. Then there was David and Ramona, they were twins. They were the best in Charms. Andrea was good in potions as well. Alicia was very pleased with her group of friends: they could all be useful one day. And as for Elisabeth she had no special gift but Alicia still felt like she would be needed. Elisabeth was the only one Alicia could confide in.

When the train arrived, Alicia confidently took one of the best compartments. Peter and Frank were carrying her trunk as well as their own.

Alicia smiled happily at them. She was certain she was going to have a good time. After all, she was capable of anything to get what she wanted. And right then the only thing Alicia wanted was to find the chamber of secrets and open it for the third time.

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Elisabeth woke up in the middle of the night once again. It happened nearly all the time. Since Alicia had discovered her father's invisibility cloak she spend all her nights searching for the chamber of secrets.

And she never found it. Every time she rushed into their dorm and cried out in frustration.

"I know I'm close to it, but I still don't know where it is!" Alicia said as she punched her pillow.

Elisabeth rubbed her sleepy eyes and said nothing. Anything could set Alicia of these last days. She was on the edge. She hadn't slept for a very long time and she was very disappointed. Finding the chamber of secrets had seemed so easy when Alicia had been at home. Now that she was back in Hogwarts she realised what a difficult task it was. Hogwarts was huge, and rooms kept disappearing. The walls and the stairs moved all the time, doors appeared. Alicia had never paid much attention to the castle, but now she had to admit that it was almost impossible to find the chamber of secrets. Almost. Alicia hadn't lost hope.

She decided to stop spending her nights roaming in the corridors. Instead she continued her search reading anything she could about Salazar Slytherin and the chamber he had made.

It was Elisabeth who helped Alicia in the end although she didn't do it on purpose. Whilst Alicia read every single book about Slytherin, Elisabeth decided to read about Harry Potter and his exploits.

One day Elisabeth left her book open on the page that spoke about Harry's school days.

When Elisabeth came back to finish her reading, she discovered that Alicia was reading it instead with great interest.

"Oh, Elisabeth, here you are!" Alicia cried when she noticed Elisabeth's presence.

"Ali, you do know I was planning to read this book?" Elisabeth said pointing.

"Yes, I know, and I'm very sorry, but before you take it back I want to thank you." Alicia said. Her eyes were shining.

"What?" Elisabeth asked suspiciously.

"Thanks to you, I will finally find the chamber of secrets!" Alicia cried happily like a child on Christmas day.

"What do you mean?"

"Of course, I should have thought about it myself, but I was too absorbed in Slytherin. I never thought about reading about my father!"

"Oh, you're talking about his second year in Hogwarts when he killed that basilisk?" Elisabeth asked.

"You read that part then? You could have told me about it." Alicia said crossly.

Elisabeth looked guilty. She wished Alicia would give up her crazy ideas.

"I forgive you, don't worry." Alicia said sweetly. Somehow Alicia had made it look as she was the victim and Elisabeth was the bad one.

"Look, give me my book back!" Elisabeth snapped holding out her hand.

"Whatever. I have the information I was looking for anyway." Alicia said handing over the precious book.

"And what information is that?" Elisabeth asked. She was suddenly very curious.

"The book didn't say where the chamber of secrets is, but it said Harry had to speak Parseltongue to open it."

"And?"

"Well, I can speak to snakes as well as my father, maybe even better. I'm probably the only one in this school who can. That means I will be the only to have access to the chamber of secrets."

"And that is important?" Elisabeth asked feeling foolish.

"Yes." Alicia said simply.

"But how will this help you find the entrance to the chamber of secrets?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure I will it useful. There is sure to be a sign somewhere. Maybe Morla can guide me. Maybe because I'm a Parselmouth, I will know when the chamber of secrets is in front of me. After all, the two only wizards that found the chamber of secrets were Parseltmouths!"

Elisabeth shuddered as Morla appeared from under Alicia's bed. The snake was getting bigger and stronger every day.

It was unbearable to think of what Morla could do with her new poisonous fangs.

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Mr Collins, the Defence against the Dark Arts teacher, was not happy. He had given McGonagall the proof that Alicia was guilty of stealing books from the restricted sections, but the headmistress had chosen to do nothing about it.

"But this is her watch! Her name is written behind it! It's probably a gift from her crazy grandfather. I heard he's a fan of everything that is muggle." Mr Collins had cried when McGonagall had tried to dismiss him.

Yes, Mr Collins really wasn't happy. He wanted Alicia to get punished for her crimes.

Mr Collins was a very patient man, or so he liked to think he was. He would wait. Alicia was surely going to disrespect the school's laws once again and Mr Collins would see personally that her punishment was not made lightly.

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Alicia and Elisabeth were on the way to the Slytherin common-room. They were walking side by side in the corridor. Elisabeth looked very uneasy.

"Alicia?" She said.

"Yes?"

"Who is this Mitch guy?" Elisabeth asked. She had not wanted to do so but the question had been burning on her tongue for some while.

Alicia suddenly stopped in her tracks and froze. Her face stayed the same but her eyes were looking at Elisabeth with a strange fear. Elisabeth had never seen her friend act like this.

"Where did you hear that name?" Alicia asked.

Elisabeth shrugged.

"I don't know. You keep saying his name in your dreams." She said casually.

Alicia immediately relaxed. For a second she had wondered if Beverly had spread the rumour about her and Mitch. That would definitely ruin her reputation. Nobody was supposed to know that Alicia had been staying every single holyday in the garden of a muggle.

"Well, I don't know who he is either." Alicia said.

She bit her lip. She had promised herself not to think about Mitch anymore. It hurt too much.

"Eh, Elisabeth, I'm sorry, but I have to go the bathroom."

Alicia knew she was going to start crying. She didn't want Elisabeth to see her tears, so she made her way to the nearest bathroom as quickly as possible without running.

Alicia bent over the nearest sink and waited. She was still shaking. And then, suddenly, she saw it:

Scratched on the side of one of the copper taps was a tiny snake.

Alicia gasped. She remembered what she had read in Elisabeth's book.

Concentrating, Alicia stared at the tiny snake and wondered what she had to say.

She said the first word that came on her lips in Parseltongue.

"Slytherin."

Instead of a human voice, a hiss came out of Alicia's lips.

The tap glowed with a brilliant white light and began to spin. Next second, the sink began to move as well. Alicia watched fascinated at what she had done. The sink sank right out of side, leaving a large pipe exposed. The pipe was wide enough for a grown man to slide into.

Alicia grinned.

"I did it!" she cried out. Her voice echoed in the empty bathroom. "I found the chamber of secrets!"

END OF PART 1

Author's note: This is the end of part 1. Don't worry, there will be more Mitch & Alicia in part 2.

What has Mitch seen in the Mirror of Erised?

How will Alicia react when the baby is born?

Is she able to attack the muggle-borns?

Is she really evil or is she just acting?

What will Mr Collins do next?

Will Mitch and Alicia ever be friends again?

You will have to wait for part 2 !! (I'm so evil :D )

Just so you know, I find more energy to write when you leave me reviews, so please people get to work!