Chapter Twenty-Four: The Writing On The Wall

Later that night Harry finally had his detention with Lockheart helping him answer his fan mail. Even though he much rather would have been in history of magic class or even working on his homework. "Harry, Harry, Harry, can you honestly think of a better way of serving detention than by helping me answer my fan mail?" He inquired.

"Not really." Harry lied as Lockheart signed his name on one of the pictures of him flying on a broomstick wearing his Qudditch robes and that's when suddenly Harry heard it. An obvious, clear, hissing voice.

"Let me kill you,.. let me destroy you." It said as Harry looked up with a look of confusion on his face.

"What?" He whispered as Lockheart turned to look over at him.

"I'm sorry?" He questioned him.

"Didn't you hear that? That voice?" Harry questioned him back.

"Voice? What voice?" Lockheart wondered while Patches stuck his head out from underneath the desk and started to pant. "I think that you might be getting a bit drowsy and it isn't any wonder since we've already been here for a few hours." He told him and as Patches perked up his ears Harry heard it again.

"Come to me! Let me kill you! Let me rip you!" It hissed and that's when Harry quickly leapt up onto his feet and raced out of the room with Patches running along behind him. They both could hear it through the walls. "Kill! Kill! Kill!" It repeated louder and louder until suddenly they ran into Ron, Hermione, and April.

"Harry are you alright? You look like you just saw a ghost." April pointed out.

"April, you're a witch and this is the wizarding world and it's considered normal around here remember?" Ron questioned her.

"Oh yeah, right. I forgot." April confessed with a blush.

"A voice, I just heard it and Patches did too." Harry explained as Hermione suddenly grew a look of concern on her face.

"Voice? What voice?" She questioned him.

"I don't know, but whatever it is it's moving through the walls and I think it's going to kill." He replied before he started to run away, and Patches barked and quickly scampered after him.

"Wait! What do you mean kill!?" Ron cried as he, Hermione, and April all raced after them and that's when suddenly Harry came to a sudden halt as there was a bunch of water on the floor. April's cat CJ laid on his side completely motionless while Filch's cat Mrs. Norris was strung up by her tail and hanging on the torch bracket. April quickly hurried over to her cat and started to sob while Harry, Ron, and Hermione all looked up at the wall that read;

"The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir beware."

"Oh no." Hermione began with a gulp. "It's written in blood too." She finished when suddenly the hall was filled with students making their way back to their dormitories. Unfortunately, all of the professors also just happened to be making their way back to their dorms along with Argus Filch.

"You're Severus' child." He began as soon as he spotted Harry and saw the scar on his forehead. "What are you doing here?" He inquired with uncertainty before seeing Mrs. Norris in her horrid state. "Mrs. Norris?" He questioned as he suddenly let out a rather small gasp and then turned to look back over at Harry. "You murdered my cat." He accused him but Harry quickly shook his head.

"No I didn't!" He cried.

"I don't care whose child you are I'll kill ya!" Filch exclaimed as Patches started to growl low in his throat. "I'll bloody kill ya!" He cried out and reached out for him before Patches grabbed ahold of his ankle and bit down hard. "You dirty old mutt!" He hollered angrily back at him.

"Get away from my son." Severus growled as he suddenly came to Harry's aid.

"Oh yeah? Well your son has just murdered my cat so I want to see some punishment!" Filch hollered.

"First of all I have absolutely no reason to believe that Harry and his friends did anything. I'm almost certain that they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Second of all I don't believe that your cat is dead as she appears to have been petrified." Severus explained as Dumbledore just nodded silently in agreement.

"Oh yeah then why don't I remember seeing your son at dinner tonight?" Filch asked him.

"I do believe that's my doing." Lockheart began. "Snape's son was serving detention with me answering my fan mail." He finished.

"Yeah and we were just going to look for him when he said_" Hermione began.

"Yes Ms. Granger?" Professor McGonagall inquired.

"When I said that I wasn't hungry." Harry replied rather quickly. "We were headed back to our common rooms when we found Mrs. Norris." He explained.

"Innocent until proven guilty." Dumbledore said speaking up for the first time while Malfoy just looked up at the wall.

"Enemy of the heir beware?" He questioned before turning to look over at April. "You'll be next mudbloods." He told her as Hermione just simply looked at him with disgust and rolled her eyes. "Just ignore him, he's not worth it." She told her.

"You too Granger!" Draco snapped as he watched Hermione turn April away and they started heading back to their common rooms but that's when Harry realized the strangest thing. He was either going completely crazy or Malfoy now had a rather hurt and saddened look on his face as he quickly glanced back over his shoulder at him and then continued back to his common room along with everyone else.

Neither Harry, Ron, or Hermione slept very well that night and little to their knowledge neither did Draco Malfoy. "It's impossible. I can't like her. She's a mudblood. It's impossible." He thought to himself. "If my parents, especially my father found out I would never hear the end of it." He added silently to himself and with that he finally rolled over, closed his eyes, and drifted off to sleep.