I can't tell you guys how happy it makes me to update a chapter and read all of your FABULOUS reviews. Like right now, I'm just replying to you guys while cooking pasta and playing Gorilla by Bruno Mars in the background. Get rid of the fact that I have a shitload of English homework that needs to be done, and it's a pretty freakin' perfect night.
That was irrelevant, but screw it. ANYWAY, reviews:
hufflepuffhaleb: You're gonna see this chapter what she wrote ;) AND you're gonna get a Caleb-centric chapter COMING UP NEXT! Hopefully I can upload it tomorrow. And as for Caleb's haircut, think 2B/4A. Aka HOT. Then again, he's Caleb, so of course he's gonna be hot, but ya know. And yes I've written the rest of the story, but no there's not gonna be a sequel :( chin up, though, you've still got around 20 chapters left of this one!
TotalCowGirl: I love Hanna/Aria as well! They have such a cute friendship :) and you'll find out THIS CHAPTER!
Forever Courage: She really is, isn't she? But that's what makes her so fun to write for :)
foreverawildandbeautifulmess: All of the girls are going through a lot unfortunately. It sucks, but that's the cost you have to pay for being a Liar! Well then, looks like Rita Skeeter better watch her back :/
Sarah: Haha, I was HOPING someone would catch that! Classic Ashley, filling up on the wine. And haha, she was! I just got a review from her and she is not a happy camper. OH WELL! And oh man, how did I not notice that?! "You're Lily Freakin' Potter!" Perfection. And well, Caleb's is gonna be something, I'll tell you that. I can tell you you'll see more of his friendship with Aria, if that gets you excited :D
Guest: Thank you so much!
Titanium Wolf: I think you'll end up liking/hating what she has to say ;) and I will! And no worries, I don't mind if you miss a chapter. You guys have been so wonderful it'd be horrid if I were to get mad over something small like that.
PrettyWitchyVamp: Your intro was FABULOUS, OMG. I've never laughed so hard in my life. And ooh, that's an interesting theory! Haven't gotten that before. Unfortunately, I can't tell you whether you're right or wrong because I want it to be a complete surprise, meaning you should be suspecting EVERYONE! Absolutely NO narrowing anything down. And haha, but I think I'm used to the angry fangirls by now! I'd need about 6 hands to count all of the death threats I've received (all from Bagilia, but it's fine because I love her XD) so there's that :P and ooh, you'll be seeing even MORE of Rita Skeeter, besides just her writing! You'll just have to keep reading to find out ;) thanks for your reviews as always!
Ava B: Ugh, junior year is unbelievably obnoxious, haha, but I'm surviving... kinda. I like their friendship too! Thanks again for your kind words :)
Brittana4ever: Yeah, I'm glad I did too!
AL3110: Wow, that's so impressive. Props to you!
Bagilia: Aww, thank you! That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me! ;D Haha, I liked the name Barney, too, which is why I used it! And I'm glad you're hooked, because my life would feel so empty if I lost you as a reviewer. And indeed, I did ;) Sarah above SAID you'd be mad, but no worries. He still looks HOT. It's his 2B/4A haircut, aka his best look in my opinion. And haha, yet! But there are so many other possibilities, so keep your eyes open!
Sgdp1261: Poor Mikey :( and yeah, everyone is really down, but this chapter kinda picks up the pace a little! Rita Skeeter has that effect on the wizarding world ;)
Okay, NEW CHAPTER TIME! Hopefully you enjoy, AND don't forget to review review REVIEW!
After visiting Hogwarts, the well attended school for witches and wizards in training, and investigating a little further on the matter of the Chamber of Secrets being opened once again, we've narrowed down who we think could be behind it to one suspect, and one that sparks our interests particularly: Spencer Hastings, a seventh year at the school who is familiar with the work of the Ministry, and is most likely familiar with the intricacies of dark magic. Many of the Ministry executives know her from her internship working for Kingsley Shacklebolt during the summer; perhaps she has been sifting through files on her way to getting Kingsley Shacklebolt his morning coffee?
"I like that Hastings girl, I do," Shacklebolt said when we talked to him. "She's smart, and I realized this immediately. But I suppose it could be that she's too smart..."
"Asshole," Spencer muttered as her eyes grazed over the page, reading each line carefully as her eyes increased in size.
"Shh!" Aria pressed her finger up to her lips. "Just keep reading."
Now, of course it seems like we're pinning this on an easy target; someone at the school that the Ministry is familiar with to make it all the more juicy. But I'm sure you're suspicions will flip in our favor once you hear what we're about to tell you.
When we first got word of Minerva McGonagall, Headmistress of the school, calling in a search team to clue in on the Chamber, we set to work on getting the scoop for all of you, checking in to see if dark magic really has returned, and if it has, who has brought it back to the wizarding world. And further along into our visit, we came across a rift in the school's Great Hall.
In the corner of the room, Hastings was spotted shouting at another girl, of which sources claim to be Mona Vanderwaal, year seven Ravenclaw. She was shouting accusations at Vanderwaal, claiming that it was she who opened up the Chamber, only to leave the girl looking lost, confused, and a little scared.
"Is that a picture of me yelling at Mona?" Spencer squealed in shock as she looked down at the moving picture of her and Mona, nearly an inch away from each other's faces as Spencer screamed into Mona's, in the bottom right corner of the page.
Aria looked closer into the frame, and then gasped. "Is that... did they get me pulling you away?"
They had. A few short seconds later, there was a flash of a tiny hand grabbing Spencer's arm, and then a wave of black hair as Aria pulled Spencer fully out of the frame.
"You both don't look bad considering," Hanna said optimistically, shrugging her shoulders for effect.
"Guys," Emily said sternly. "Keep reading."
After Hastings had fled the scene, we did some investigating of our own, and found that the girl had been doing research. This isn't your typical research for a school project or for a homework assignment for your next Potions class. No, she was doing research on the Chamber itself. Over near Hastings's seat at her dining table - Slytherin, note - was a stack of books, all on the Chamber. We don't know where she got them from, but she's clearly looking for something in those books; perhaps a way to speed up the process? A way to use the Chamber to take down everyone?
"That bitch is the one who took my books!" Spencer exclaimed, referring to Rita Skeeter, who had written the article.
"Ezra's books," Aria corrected, not bothering to hide the bitterness in her voice.
"I'm sorry, okay? If he's so upset, tell him to go write in his journal about it."
"Please, I'm sure he's done that already," Hanna joked.
"Quit making fun of Ezra and keep reading, guys!" Emily said exasperatedly, trying to draw attention away from the girls making fun of Ezra's propensity toward femininity, especially since they did this countless times before and it was never received well. It was also only a matter of time before smoke started coming out of Aria's ears, and Emily knew that it wasn't a pretty sight.
Now, after closing in on several sources throughout the school, we shortly found out that Spencer Hastings is close friends with three other girls in the school; Emily Fields, Hanna Marin, and Aria Montgomery. Now, Montgomery and Fields are loved ones of two of the three students held in the Infirmary after being victimized by the unknown powers of the Chamber. That could either prove Hastings's innocence, or it could prove that she's not above sacrificing one of her own to take down the wizarding world. And this conversation we had with two of her friends seems to prove the latter. When we caught up with Marin and Fields -
Spencer's jaw dropped, and she turned accusingly toward Emily and Hanna. "You two were interviewed by Rita Skeeter and you didn't even think to tell me?"
Emily bit her bottom lip in remorse. "Umm... guess we forgot?"
"Wow, took her long enough to get the article published," Hanna muttered bitterly. "She interviewed us on Halloween! Do you know how long ago that was?"
"Reading!" Aria reminded sternly, turning back to the page.
When we caught up with Marin and Fields, they were surprisingly guarded, almost as though they were hiding something.
"Spencer is our best friend," Marin kept saying, a little too cheerfully. "We'd do anything for her! And she definitely isn't responsible for opening up the Chamber of Secrets. No siree!"
"Okay, even I know that's a dumb thing to say!" Hanna nearly shouted.
"... Then why'd you say it?" Aria asked bluntly, only to earn a glare from Hanna.
"I didn't say it," she spat. "She made it up! This entire article is a lie!"
"Okay, let's just calm down," Emily said mellowly. "Maybe it gets better!"
With the way Marin and Fields continued to cross their ankles and fidget with their hands, it was made perfectly clear that they know something. They are most likely aware of their friend's actions, but are not saying anything out of love and protection for her.
We did not get a chance to interview Hastings directly, and it's probably best that we hadn't given her tendency toward hostility, but facts are facts, and they are not in Miss Hastings's favor. Now, ever since the last Chamber opening, and ever since the defeat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, the staff of Hogwarts has been pretty hush-hush about the grim events of the past in order to shield their students from them; they want their students to feel like Hogwarts, and the wizarding world itself, is a safe environment. But with the kind of exposure Hastings has had, working in the offices at the Ministry, and if she has indeed been sneaking into old files and discovering old secrets, perhaps she, for whatever reason, wanted to revive the dark magic that had dissipated so long ago. Perhaps you really can have too much of a good thing, and get bored with it.
Perhaps Spencer Hastings is willing to shake things up.
"... Okay, so that did not get better," Emily breathed mournfully.
"Wow, they don't call her 'enchantingly nasty' for nothing," Aria muttered.
"I can't read anymore of that," Spencer said exasperatedly as she flung the paper back down on the table. The other girls exchanged uneasy glances before turning back to Spencer, who was sitting at the table, positively mortified as she held her head in her hands.
Emily rubbed Spencer's back. "Spence, you don't think people will actually believe that, do you?"
"Rita Skeeter has a reputation for making stuff up," Aria pointed out comfortingly.
"Yeah, so no one is gonna believe this load of bullcrap she's springing on us," Hanna said soothingly.
Spencer just kept her head firmly held in her hands, taking deep breaths. She appreciated her friends' efforts in comforting her, and maybe no one would believe it. That wasn't why she was upset.
She was upset because Rita did a damn good job at convincing Spencer that she did open the Chamber.
The Parseltongue, the dream she had, it was all coming together. But why wouldn't she be able to remember something like that?
Spencer finally looked up from her hands, and looked over to the Ravenclaw table, where Mona was sitting; where Mona was staring at her. Spencer groaned, guessing she had read the article.
"Well, now I know where I got this from," Aria said bitterly, holding up the paper to see a bright red 'A', written in the right hand corner of the page.
"Wait, 'A' sent that to us?" Spencer asked, suddenly attentive. The girls had restricted themselves to just calling the person behind this 'A', since that was the initial that started it all. "That means they must've given it to Barney, right?"
"I don't think Barney is going to answer any of our prying questions about our torturer, Spence," Aria said, a tad warningly, as she cut off a piece of her omelet and fed it to the snowy owl, stroking his feathers protectively as she did so.
Spencer slumped in her seat. "I guess not," she said defeatedly. "But someone has to have answers. Guys, I'm freaking out here, I don't want to deal with this anymore."
"It'll be okay - "
"No it won't!" Spencer snapped. Emily, who had tried reassuring her, pulled back in hurt. Spencer was breathing heavily, and nearly on the verge of tears. Finally, she muttered that she needed some fresh air as she got up from the table, not even bothering to look back at the girls, or the looks on their faces.
She was nearly halfway out of the hall when someone stopped her.
"Can we talk?" Toby said abruptly, his blue eyes shining with confusion and, if she looked closely enough, guilt.
Spencer, for a moment, felt like telling him to screw off. Toby had left her while she was going through a rough time, and now he wanted to come crawling back? But looking into his concerned - and albeit gorgeous - eyes, she realized how much she missed him, and how much she needed him right now. She nodded her head, her chin quivering as she willed herself not to cry, and Toby led her out into the hall.
"What is this about?" Spencer croaked out as she stood across from Toby, who was leaning against the brick wall, surveying her intently.
He waited a minute before speaking. "How are you?"
Spencer arched her eyebrows upward. Really? That was what he pulled her out to say? Toby sensed her confusion, so he bowed his head. "I read that article."
"Oh." Spencer pursed her lips into a perfect circle. "And what did you think about it?"
"I'm not sure," he admitted. Spencer puffed her cheeks full of air before releasing the air slowly. That wasn't exactly the answer she had wanted.
But he held his hands up to reassure her. "I know it's not true though; you wouldn't hurt anyone like that."
"Well can you tell everyone else that?" Spencer pleaded. "That bitch really gave it to me. I don't even wanna think about my parents seeing it - "
"If anyone sides with Rita Skeeter, I'll personally kick their ass," Toby promised, and the seriousness to his tone made a small giggle escape Spencer's lips. He, too, couldn't help but crack a small smile.
But the giggles soon stopped, and the awkwardness returned. It was the first time the pair had talked in months, and they weren't quite as comfortable with each other as they should have been. Toby slipped his hands into the pockets of his robes. "Well I should get back in there. Jenna's waiting for me."
This made Spencer's breath catch in her throat. "Wait, Jenna?"
Toby hesitated, but then nodded his head. Spencer couldn't believe it; after all this time, after everything Jenna had put him through, Toby was going back to her. Had Spencer really screwed him up so much that he was willing to do such a thing?
When Spencer didn't say anything else, Toby took this as his cue to leave. But before he could, Spencer found her voice again.
"Toby, wait!"
He turned back around to face her, an expectant look on his face. Spencer gulped loudly. "I miss you."
At hearing Spencer like this, Toby was close to cracking; that much was clear by the way his features softened. But they hardened just as fast as he spun on his heel and went back into the Great Hall without another word to Spencer.
He wasn't ready to go down that road again. Not yet, anyway.
Side Note: Poor Spoby babies :( and WOW, Rita Skeeter. That marvelous bitch. She basically just ruined Spencer's entire year/life, but it's whatever, right? Anyway, if you liked this chapter, tell me in the reviews! And, I wanna see if anyone (specifically Sarah because I know she reads AfterEllen) caught a reference. HINT: it's in regards to Ezra, and it's a HUGE theme on the AfterEllen website. If you don't read the site, don't worry about it, but if you DO, I'm counting on you right now!