December 24th, 1992

Harry remembered Adam's early retreat as a sad one, but a necessary one. Since he was a muggleborn, Harry became concerned about Adam's safety at Hogwarts, and Granger herself found petrified in the library did not ease his troubled mind. One of the smartest students frozen like ice...Harry shivered. He hates the girl, of course who doesn't, but nobody deserves a fate like that.

Thus, Adam took his midterms early and went home, with encouragement from Harry and Richmond and the professors' approval. He took a Floo back to London, and soon, Harry received a letter from his adoptive father, saying that Adam was happy and well. Reassured, Harry and the others took the midterms to the best of their abilities before the rest of Harry's friends went on home. Harry stayed at Hogwarts for reasons only known to him and him alone.

As Harry descended down into the Chamber again, he couldn't help but feel that nagging longing for company. The Chamber of Secrets, despite its history and reputation, was actually a beautiful place, thrumming with magic and mystery, and Harry regrets not being able to tell anyone that he knows where the Chamber is. Of course, there are good reasons for him keeping his mouth shut. Number one, the returning 'Heir of Slytherin' hadn't revealed him or herself yet, so if Harry came out spilling the secrets of the Chamber, then he'd be Suspect Number One behind the petrifications. Number two, both Eve and Esmeralda's lives would be in terrible danger as many wizards and witches from all across Britain, heck, even the whole world, would try their hand at killing the 'beasts' for glorious and profitable reasons.

Harry shuddered at the thought of a future in which his familiar and her mother are brutally slain, and thus, keeps his lips sealed. But still, Harry muses sometimes, it'd be nice to have someone other than two giant snakes to talk to.

"Hello, Harry!" greeted his familiar happily as she took her usual spot on his right shoulder. "A bit late, are we?"

"I don't know which excuse to use. Your mother'll kill me for sure!" Harry mock-complained, but before the snake could respond, Harry is captured by the coils of a much larger reptile.

"And not just kill you, but eat you as well," Eve replied humorously. She chuckled before pulling Harry into a slight hug and then letting go. "It's been quiet without you here, Harry."

"I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner," Harry apologized, and thankfully the basilisks accepted the apology without qualm. "There's been a lot going on above ground."

"Like what? I can't imagine the school being that busy, even when the founders were in charge," Eve wondered, and Harry winced a bit. He didn't want to be the one telling her this, but...

"Muggleborn students are turning up petrified in the corridors." At the mention of either muggleborn or petrified, Eve stiffened up. "There are messages written in blood on the walls, warnings of the Heir of Slytherin has returned and the enemies of said Heir will be slain. Something along those lines anyway." Eve pondered this news and slithered to the statue where her personal lair lay.

"It must be me," Eve silently mused, either forgetting her child and Harry's presence or ignoring it, "Esmeralda is not yet capable of the deathly stare, not to mention those experiences..."

"Experiences?" Harry asked, hesitant. "What experiences?" Eve turned to Harry but didn't look him in the eye. Rather, she gazed at the top of his head, her beautiful, reptilian features echoing shame.

"Sometimes," Eve reminisced at last, "I have these strange experiences when I black out, physically and mentally. When I come to, I'll be in a place that I can't quite recall being in, such as my lair or one of the tunnels. More recently it's been the sewers."

"When we first met you," Esmeralda added, "We heard you say 'kill...kill...' before you came to."

"I only kill when necessary," Eve argued.

"Then someone must be controlling you," Harry concluded, starting to fit the pieces together. "I'm not the only one who knows where the Chamber of Secrets is. There's a very Dark wizard hanging about in Hogwarts, ready to use you as a weapon." Eve glowered at the water on the floor, and the liquid started to boil under her gaze. "But who?" Harry silently mused. He then turned to Eve again. "Is there anything you recall before you black out?" Eve pondered again for a moment before remembering.

"If my memory serves me correctly, right before I black out, I notice a small, redheaded girl wearing red trimmed robes standing at the entrance of the Chamber."

Harry paled. A redhead? Red-trimmed robes? But...no...it can't be. Harry shook his head in denial, but the evidence was there. It was just too unreal.

"Are you sure?" he asked, reluctant to hear the answer. Eve's nod gave him a most peculiar reaction. It felt as if his soul was being torn into two. To think that Marielle Leclair was responsible for all of this...it's heartbreaking and shocking.

"What's wrong, Harry?" Esmeralda asked, concerned.

"Don't worry about it. I know who it is, Eve, and..." he paused for a brief moment, choosing his words wisely. "I promise I'll set things right." Eve nodded in approval before slithering back into her chamber. Esmeralda, after some prompting from Harry, went back to her own lair, a small niche just ten or so feet away from the statue of Salazar Slytherin.

Despite the nobility of his quest, Harry couldn't stop the feeling of his heart being ripped into two as he ascended the stairs into the girl's bathroom and snuck back to his dorm room. Who knew Marielle Leclair was a femme fatale after all?

A/N:

Yikes, Harry isn't too happy about this piece of news. Well who would be- would you be happy that your crush is actually a psychopath? Or is it Marielle Leclair after all? Please R&R as to what you think! I love hearing from you guys! Also, I do not own JK or any of her works. Cheers!

~ Galatea Griffiths