Alright, you all are so fabulous that I HAVE to reply to your reviews. I just HAVE TO! But first of all, references:
"Never used an Unforgivable curse before, have you, my dear?" That was said by Bellatrix Lestrange TO Harry after he tried performing the Cruciatus curse on her for killing Sirius Black... like, that was her response. After she had just killed his godfather... cheeky little bitch.
And then that whole torture scene between Melissa and Aria. If you'll recall from the Deathly Hallows Part 1, the same scene happened between Bellatrix and Hermione, only instead of the library and the book it was the vault and Godric Gryffindor's sword. Such a chilling scene... everyone look it up right now and watch it over and over again, because it truly is a terrific scene.
NOW REVIEWS!
Renesmee27: Yeah, you got one! Nice job.
JosieCarter: Thank you so much! It's something I really love to do, so it's good to know that I'm doing it right! And yes, she certainly is a bitch. And squeamish? Good. Looks like I'm doing my job right ;) and actually, Ezra may or may not enter the scene in this chapter! Read on to find out.
AL3110: Oh, I know what scene you're referring to. I actually didn't think of that! Yeah, bringing back all of the spells has given me a good case of nostalgia, I'll say that. Thanks for the review once again!
Silver-Infinite: Well, no because Voldemort and Bellatrix never had any children, but good guess!
hufflepuffhaleb: Melissa is really insane in my story, I'm gonna be honest, so she and Bellatrix definitely have some similarities. And Haleb XD you didn't really think they could stay apart for THAT long, did you? And I had a better day today, so I am feeling a little better :) thanks!
Sarah: Well, I'll give her an A for effort! Makes up for her F for execution. And HAHAHA, I love Aria to death, she's my favorite... I just have a REALLY weird way of showing it (making bad things happen to people in my stories is my way of showing love for them). Plus, as a fellow Slytherin, you MUST know by now that the rules are dead to us. DEAD. And no, don't give up! Keep writing! I have a feeling you're a really good one ;D
ShadowsOnTheMoon: Heh heh... sorry. My aim is never to kill. To quote the ever loyal Dobby himself, "Dobby NEVER meant to kill! Dobby only meant to MAME or seriously injure!" I knew it had to get to you at some point, though. You were surprisingly tame last chapter!
Sgdp1261: Well, Melissa just did, so... ;) and the last chapter was one of the hardest to write, but DEFINITELY one of the most fun, because it really is one of my favorite scenes from the movies. And you're right about Emma Watson, she KILLED IT! And well, actually Hanna didn't save Emily; Melissa just faked Emily out and then pointed her wand at Hanna. But it would be cute if it were the other way around! And well, now you don't have to wait because you have the next chapter!
Forever Courage: It's one of my favorites, too! Thank you! Well, better pull out a pacemaker, because your heart rate will NOT be slowing down any time soon. It's really just beginning ;)
Guest: Thank you!
foreverawildandbeautifulmess: Yes. Yes it did :) and I had to add in SOME adorableness! I couldn't just have poor Aria getting tortured without adding some balance to the equation. Thanks again!
elggup: Speechless? Man. And actually, I don't know if Melissa is completely heartless. Crazy? Yes. COLD-hearted? Yes. And while there might not be good, or LOVE, in her her heart, she feels something... toward one of the girls in particular.
UngluckLiebhaber: Wow, THANK you! That means so much because I wanted it to be PERFECT! Imagery was exactly what I was going for, you hit on everything I was aiming for. Thanks again XD
OfSilverArrowsAndSnowflakes: Holy mother of all reviews, WHAT? This has to be the nicest review I've ever gotten. THANK YOU! I'm so happy you're enjoying the story :D I try to do whatever I can to please my reviewers, and references is a qualification for that, so I try to fit in as many as possible! And Aria's tininess is the main reason I love her because I can relate to her, haha. Thanks again, and hope to see more of you in the reviews!
izzyecw: Yep!
Bagilia: Aww, I'm so sorry! :( I'm gonna be honest, you did seem a lot moodier, but it adds more hilarity so I'm okay with it! I figured you'd enjoy that little reunion. And yes it was, there is no countdown! The Haleb reunion happened! And wait, can we just talk about how I simply mentioned it would be cool to reach 1000 reviews and you took that as a cue to review basically EVERY CHAPTER in my story?! I don't care if I didn't reach 700, that is literally the coolest thing anyone has ever done for me. Slytherins with hearts are the best kind of Slytherins XD thank you SO much!
And now, the downward spiral continues... enjoy ;D
"Aria! Aria!"
Spencer kept screaming and banging on the door to the Room of Requirement, but no matter how hard she tried, it wouldn't budge.
It was locked.
"She's stuck in there," Spencer cried, before turning back to the other three. "She's stuck in there, and Melissa's probably torturing her!"
"Here, let me try," Emily said frantically, pushing her way past Spencer and tugging at the doorknob. But she stopped halfway through tugging when she heard Aria's cries cease.
"She stopped screaming," Emily said softly.
"That's good, right?" Hanna offered up, but her enthusiasm did not match up with the grim looks on the others' faces. "What? That means Melissa stopped with the torture!"
"Yeah, or it could mean something else," Spencer said morbidly as she pushed past Emily and threw herself at the door, hoping it would at least budge. "Aria! Answer us!"
"Here, let me have a go," Caleb intervened, taking his wand back out of his pocket and pointing it straight at the door knob. "Alohomora!"
Immediately, the door knob clicked as the lock turned, and Caleb immediately turned the knob as it did so. The door swung open, leaving a clear path for the gang. They all raced into the room, nearly bumping into each other as they did so.
When they got to Aria, out cold on the ground with blood pouring out of her arm, the girls nearly fainted, but Caleb snapped them out of it by running forward to tend to her wounds. He kneeled on the ground and reached for her wrist.
"She still has a pulse," he said urgently. "Is there anything to stop the flow of blood?"
"You can use my scarf," Emily offered up, starting to unravel the scarf around her neck, but Hanna stopped her.
"I remember a healing spell that'll work," she said quickly, kneeling to the ground and pulling her wand out of the pocket of her jeans. "Vulnera Sanentur!"
Immediately, the blood flow eased up, and even started to clear up. That was the good news. The bad news had to do with what was revealed to be carved upon Aria's arm.
"Oh, Aria," Spencer whispered sadly as she lightly traced her fingers along the "M" in "Mudblood".
Caleb bit his lip, shaken by the sight of the carvings on Aria's arm. "Umm... maybe the scarf isn't such a bad idea."
Caleb didn't need to tell Emily twice, because at the clear sight of the wound on Aria's arm, she was already in the process of unraveling her scarf again. She gave it to Caleb, and Caleb immediately wove it around Aria's arm, pressing down as he did so. The other three girls knelt next to her as well, shaking her gently and trying to get her to wake up.
"Aria," Hanna whispered. "Aria, please! Please wake up!"
It took a minute, but it was as though Hanna's words had truly gotten to Aria. Her eyes gradually fluttered open, and she surveyed her surroundings: her vision was blurred, but she could still see that all of the girls, and Caleb, were hovering over her, checking to see if she was okay.
Well... was she?
"What happened?" she mumbled, suddenly very tense and afraid.
"Aria, Melissa was in here," Emily said, bringing her up to speed. "She was in here, and we escaped." She then bowed her head. "You just weren't quick enough."
Aria nodded her head, but suddenly she found that she couldn't. She was too distracted by the searing pain in her right arm. Wincing, she held it up to the light where she could see it. It had a scarf wrapped around it, so the cut was not visible, but she didn't need it to be fully in view to know what it was.
"I remember now," she whispered grimly, the word Mudblood, written in her own blood, clear as day in her mind. "I remember everything."
"What did she do to you?" Spencer asked desperately. She didn't care if Melissa was family; there was no way she would let her get away with doing this to Aria.
Aria sighed, still lying flat on her back as she stared up at the girls, fear present in her hazel eyes. Neither of them had ever seen Aria look this scared.
"She pinned me to the ground," she started, her voice surprisingly void of emotion, "and she kept saying that I took some book from her. That I stole a book from the restricted section, and she wanted it back. And when I told her I didn't..." Aria then averted her eyes to her right arm. "I think you know the rest."
"And where'd she go?" Emily asked, standing up now as she looked around the room, as though Melissa would jump out any minute.
"I think she disapparated out," Aria said weakly, suddenly very dizzy. The room was spinning, and she couldn't even stare straight out in front of her correctly.
"But why would she do that to you if you don't have the book she's looking for?" Spencer asked. "I'm the one with the books! She should know that, she's probably been watching us for a while."
"Yeah, she has been watching us for a while," Aria agreed. "Which is..." She took this chance to take a large breath. "Which is how she knew about the book in the first place."
"What?" Spencer sat back on her knees, suddenly very confused. "Aria, what are you talking about?"
Aria closed her eyes as a shudder ran through her tiny body and a lone tear escaped her left eye. "What Melissa said was true. I did take that book from her."
No one spoke. Everyone was far too stunned and far too confused. Spencer took this chance to turn to the others. "You guys, I'm gonna stay here with her. You need to get to everyone else in the school."
"And tell them what?" Hanna asked in a panic.
"That we found the culprit!" Spencer exclaimed. "That Hogwarts is not safe, and they need to get out immediately! Someone needs to tell McGonagall, someone needs to run up to Hogsmeade and grab everyone... just spread the word, okay?"
"How much time do we have?" Emily asked.
"Considering how quickly Melissa moves - and believe me, I would know - not much. Now go!"
Hanna and Emily both scrambled to their feet and sprinted toward the door - well, at least Emily sprinted. Hanna went as fast as she could in her black ankle boots and skinny jeans. She wasn't exactly prepared to go on any kind of expedition today. Caleb started to get up, too, but Spencer pulled him back.
"Caleb," she breathed, "there's only one way that I can think of that my sister could've gotten here."
"And that is?"
"I doubt she apparated," Spencer continued. "But my family has a car. A bright blue flying car. I need you to scour the grounds looking for it."
"Spence, that'll take ages!"
"Snag a broom if that's what it takes!" Spencer snapped. "And when you find it... get Hanna and Emily as far away from here as possible."
"What about Aria?"
Spencer looked down at Aria, who looked white as a sheet as her eyes glazed over. Spencer chewed on the inside of her cheek, having never been so conflicted in her life. "I'll figure it out," she finally said. "Toby is around here somewhere. I'll hand her over to him, and they can get to safety."
"And you?"
Spencer just bit her lip again; and she thought she was conflicted before. "There's some unfinished business that I need to take care of," she finally said.
Caleb's eyes widened. "If you're thinking of doing what I think you're thinking of doing - "
"Now's not the time for you to analyze that. Go! Go gather everyone! And find that car!"
It took a lot of egging on, but finally Caleb shot off of the ground and darted out of the room, now on a mission.
Now Spencer could turn her attention back to Aria.
"Aria, what are you talking about? What book?"
Aria just sighed as more tears fell. "When you sent me into the library that night, I found a very strange book. It was hidden in this far corner of the room, covered by all of these other books, but I somehow still came across it."
Spencer nodded her head subtly as she slowly moved Aria's head into her lap. "And what does this have to do with Melissa?"
"It mentioned her," Aria said softly. "It mentioned both of you."
"What?!"
Suddenly, the door to the room burst open, and Toby came running in, gasping for breath.
"There you are," he breathed. "I've been looking for you everywhere!"
"How'd you find us?" Spencer asked, and to her surprise Paige came running up as well.
"It took a while," she explained, catching her breath as well, "but it turns out all we had to do was shake Lucas up a little to get the lowdown on where you guys were."
"Here, Spencer," Toby said carefully as he handed her the thick, hardcover book in his hands. The Chamber of Secrets: Where We Are Today. "I think there's some stuff in here that concerns you."
"Page 394," Aria whispered, and Spencer flipped through the pages 10 at a time until she finally reached that page. If she wasn't holding Aria in her lap at the time, she would've gladly dropped the book onto the floor with a satisfying thud.
There. Right there on the page. Someone had taken the time to highlight it, too.
Because the previous Heir of Slytherin - sources claim them to be Tom Marvolo Riddle - has been eradicated, the new Heir could come from two very powerful and well known Slytherin families: the Malfoys and the Hastingses. As of now, it is undetermined.
"Oh my god," Spencer squeaked. "It was in here all along. And... Malfoy. That was on purpose, too. Melissa wanted him out of the way." She then raised her head to look up at Toby. "None of those attacks were accidents. Mike was to shake up Aria, we know about Malfoy and Mona, and Maya was to end her and Paige."
After saying this, Spencer let out a long gulp. "My sister is in full control of that Basilisk, and she could have it kill all of us if she really wanted..."
Toby nodded before glaring down at Aria. "Why did you keep this a secret? Why didn't you tell anyone?"
Upon hearing Toby snap at her like this, Aria propped herself up on her elbows. "Do you realize how much that freaked me out?" she spat, her voice trembling terribly. "How are you supposed to tell your best friend that someone in her family is planning on taking down the wizarding world? Taking down people like me, one arm carving at a time?"
"Aria, it's okay." Spencer spoke in a much softer tone than Toby as she pulled Aria close. "Calm down."
Aria just let the tears keep spilling. "I should've told you, but I... I thought I was protecting you. I never wanted you to know the truth, and I just kept hoping and praying to myself that it would just end soon, or that it would end up being one of the Malfoys instead - "
"But it didn't," Spencer said, grief-stricken. "It ended up being my sister."
Aria just sunk further into Spencer's embrace while Paige and Toby just watched, heartbroken. "I'm so, so sorry, Spence. I'm the reason we're where we are now. I did this to myself!" she added, holding her arm up as the tears streamed down her face and blood trickled down her arm from behind the scarf. Spencer could feel tears of her own piling up at the front of her eyes as she pulled in Aria for another hug, trying her hardest to calm her down. That was a near impossible task at this point, however, as things really couldn't get much worse.
"Aria, I'm not mad," she whispered tenderly into Aria's raven hair. "I wish you'd have told me, but I understand your reasoning. The fact that you kept a secret as big as this to protect me means the world to me."
Aria just sniffled into Spencer's shoulder while Spencer rubbed circles on her back. Spencer may not have been mad at her, but that didn't mean she would go so far as to not be mad at herself. How could she forgive herself after everything she had put her friends through?
Suddenly, the door to the room slammed open, and Ezra whipped past Toby and Paige, blindly searching for the woman of his affections. "Where is she? Where's Aria?"
Aria slowly unwound herself out of Spencer's arms as she looked up at him. "Ezra..."
At the mere sight of Aria, pale and faint and cocooned in Spencer's arms, and at the mere sight of the blood on her arm - the scarf wasn't doing that great of a job blocking it - Ezra himself paled, dropping to his knees next to her and Spencer. "What happened? Are you okay? Oh my god, I'm so sorry this had to happen - "
But before he could finish, Spencer grabbed his arm, pulling herself and him off of the ground, while gently setting Aria back on it. "You all need to get out of here," she said hastily, and with that she turned to Paige and Toby as well. "Take Aria with you, and all four of you need to get as far away from this school as possible. I don't know what Melissa is planning on doing, but it's going to be horrid."
"What do you think she's going to do?" Paige asked worriedly.
"She's smart," Spencer pointed out gravely. "She knows that with these things, you have to start small. First the most well sought out wizarding school in England, and then the wizarding world."
"Damn," Ezra whispered.
"Damn is right. Now, don't just stand here! Go! Get out of here! I'm gonna go find Melissa!"
"Spencer!" Toby grabbed her arm as Spencer started to dart away. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Someone has to stop her," she said determinedly as she let out a shaky breath. "And I think it's supposed to be me."
"You can't do that!"
"Of course I can!" she shouted.
"No you can't! I won't let you!"
"Toby, I have to! You can't be the one that I fall back on for this. I have to stop her myself!"
Toby hesitated, unable to come up with a sufficient argument to stop Spencer in her tracks. So without further thought, he lurched forward, his lips smashed against Spencer's in a passionate kiss. Stunned, but still functioning, Spencer kissed back, until she disconnected moments later.
Toby stared into her eyes, his blue ones connecting with her brown ones. "Whatever happens, Spence, please know that I love you. Know that I never stopped."
Spencer swallowed loudly. She didn't know whether to leap for joy or to cower into a corner now, so she decided that none would be appropriate right now. "I'll keep that in mind," she finally choked out, before making her way out the door.
In the meantime, Ezra and Paige were on the ground, tending to Aria, who was toggling between consciousness and unconsciousness. "Aria, please stay awake. Please!"
"It's all my fault," she kept muttering through her tears. She was working herself up so much that her heart was beating faster, meaning her blood was pumping faster, and, needless to say, Emily's scarf was completely soaked by now.
"It's not, Aria, it's not," Ezra croaked, tears of his own spilling down his face. "It's my fault. I'm the reason you're where you are right now. I thought I was protecting you, but I'm just shoving you further into danger than you were already in!"
"Aria, you have to stay with us," Paige said calmly. "You're gonna be okay."
"It's all my fault," Aria said weakly, her eyes drooping as she prepared herself to mumble out the words that even she never thought would ever come out of her mouth. But as they left her lips, she realized they could never be more true.
"I'm... I'm just a filthy mudblood."
Paige and Ezra's jaws both dropped to the floor at this statement as Aria's eyes shut completely. At this point, neither person knew when they'd open again.
So there you have it. Aria is not evil; simply scared and conflicted and protective of her friends. So she's off the hook, but Melissa is NOT. Does Spencer have what it takes to stop Melissa? Could that Spoby kiss be enough to give her strength? And what will happen to the rest of the gang, now that they are all separated? Sound off in the reviews!
