Alucard and Hermione stared at the Crabbe and Goyle look-alikes as they waddled to the mirrors and inspected themselves before turning to each other.
"Blimey!" Crabbe-Ron exclaims, looking Harry over carefully. "This is unbelievable."
"Yeah." Harry grunts, readjusting his watch to fit his expanded wrist. "We've got to hurry up though, we still need to figure out where the Slytherin common room is."
"That's where I come in." Alucard says, blinking at the sight of Crabbe and Goyle paying attention. "Seeing Crabbe and Goyle like that is weird. Anyways, we've got to head down to the dungeons and I'll lead you guys to Malfoy so he can get us into the common room."
"Do we have to?" Ron-Crabbe groans. "I don't like the idea of having Malfoy help us."
"Yes, we do." Hermione says. "None of us know the password and we need someone who does, then there's the fact that he is also the one you're going to question. It's killing two birds with one stone."
"Think of it as pranking him." Alucard says, before tapping the top of his head with his wand while mumbling something. Alucard's body the began to shift so that it looked like the bathroom behind him with a blurry area over it. "How did I do?"
"Looking through you is a bit blurry, so we can see where you are." Hermione responds, walking around him.
"Finite Incantatem" Alucard says, waving his wand over himself before recasting the spell, this time to more success. There was now a very subtle blurring that could be easily missed if you weren't looking for it. "Now?"
"A lot better." Hermione says happily, then turns to the other two boys who were gaping at Alucard.
"You never said you could turn invisible!" Ron blurts out, pointing to Alucard's blurry form.
"I can't. I'm just making it so I look like what's behind me from what angle you look from, that's why I still look blurry." Alucard explains, grabbing Harry's Cloak and throwing it over himself. "This is invisibility."
"Why do you need the spell if you're still using the Cloak?" Harry asks.
"What if a gust of wind moved the cloak from around my feet? Then people would see some feet that seem to be missing their body and would realise someone was invisible." Alucard lectures them, before grinning. "And I wanted to see if I could do the spell."
"You're mental, mate." Ron's confused look fit Crabbe's face rather well.
"C'mon, we can debate my mental state later, we've got a Slytherin to interrogate." Alucard calls from the door as it swings open. Ron and Harry hurry after him. The three boys head down to the dungeons, Alucard whispering directions to them until they ended up in front of a blank stretch of wall.
"Um, what's the password?" Harry-Goyle asks, staring at the wall dumbly.
"I dunno." Ron-Crabbe responds simply. The two look around for any sign of a Slytherin, until the voice of their target drawls out from behind them.
"There you are." Malfoy's voice carries down the passage as he strolls towards them. "Have you two been pigging out in the Great Hall all this time? I've been looking for you, I've got something really funny to show you." Malfoy struts up to the wall they were standing next to. "Did you really forget the password again? I swear, you'd be dead without me. Pure-blood!"
The wall in front of them slid open and Alucard slipped past quickly and watched as the three second-years walked in. Alucard glanced around the green lit room to find several Slytherins were sitting in the carved chairs covered by shadows from their fireplace. Green lamps were hanging from the ceiling from chains and cast the room into a green glow. Malfoy told Ron and Harry to wait for him on a couch before he rushes to his dorm to grab whatever he wanted to show them.
"I'm gonna follow him." Alucard whispered to the two before slipping away silently, catching up to the smaller Slytherin with ease. Malfoy walks into his room confidently, swinging the door wide open so Alucard could slip in with no problem. Malfoy instantly moves to his bedside table where a newspaper cutting and letter sat while Alucard turns his invisible crimson eyes onto the rest of the room, looking for anything to out Malfoy as Slytherin's Heir or prove him innocent.
His eyes slide over the green and silver four poster bed and bedside table where Malfoy stood after a quick look under both before he started inspecting the walls for anything hidden. His search was cut short when Malfoy started leaving with the newspaper cutting in hand without a glance at the rest of the room. Alucard slipped out of the room and stopped behind Harry and Ron just before Malfoy returns.
"I didn't find anything in his room." Alucard whispers to Harry as Malfoy thrusts the newspaper at Ron, Harry nods subtly to show he heard before turning his eyes to Ron. Ron read the article quickly, eyes widened slightly in shock as he forced out a short laugh before handing it to Harry. Harry and Alucard read it together as Malfoy watched expectantly. It read:
ENQUIRY AT THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC
Arthur Weasley, Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, was fined forty Galleons for bewitching a Muggle car.
Lord Lucius Malfoy, a governor of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where the enchanted car landed earlier this year, was heard speaking against the decisions the Head of Weasley House has made with the car.
'Mr Weasley has acted against the very department he runs.' Lord Malfoy told our reporter. 'Be this a one time offense or not, it reflects poorly on his ability to make sound choices. Thus his ideas of laws, like the Muggle Protection Act, should be more carefully scrutinized than ever before, maybe even scrapped altogether."
Mr Weasley was unavailable for comment, although his wife told our reporters to clear off their land or she'd set the family ghoul on them.
"Well?" Malfoy asks impatiently when Harry handed him the cutting back without laughing. "Didn't you think it was funny?"
"Hahaha." Harry bites out. Malfoy seems to accept that laugh, pitiful as it was.
"Arthur Weasley, one of the biggest Muggle-lovers to ever be born, he should just snap his wand and join them." Malfoy mutters scornfully, missing Ron's angry face. Alucard elbowed Ron to get himself under control, which he managed to do before Malfoy noticed. "You'd never know the Weasleys were pure-bloods, they way they behave."
"And don't get me started on Dumbledore." Malfoy continues, oblivious to the three glares directed at him. "Father says he is the worst thing that's ever happened to Hogwarts. A decent Headmaster wouldn't have allowed any of the slime in the Hospital Wing to even enter the school, take Creevey for example!" Malfoy started miming taking pictures. "Potter, can I have a picture? Can I have an autograph, Potter? Can I please, please, lick your shoes, Potter?"
Malfoy dropped his hands and stared incredulously at Harry and Ron. "What's the matter with you two?"
"Ha, ha, ha." Ron and Harry laugh far too late and with far too little joy, but Malfoy still accepts it for some reason. He must be as dense as Crabbe and Goyle, or just plain vain. Malfoy regardless continues his tirade.
"Then there's Saint Potter, the Mudbloods' friend, and Bloodlover Juvatich, Defender of the Dirty Bloods!" Malfoy growls angrily. "Those two are some more that don't act like true wizards, or they wouldn't prance around with that jumped-up Granger Mudblood. And people think he's Slytherin's Heir-!" A resounding crack turns everyone's attention away from whatever they were doing. "What was that?"
What that was, was Alucard stopping himself from throwing Malfoy across the room or just outright jinxing the blond ponce, by straining against himself so much he accidently cracked the ground he stood on. Alucard's eyes glared crimson hellfire at Malfoy through the Invisibility Cloak, barely holding back a snarl as he stood perfectly still. Slowly everyone returned to what they were doing, sending suspicious glances around the room, Ron and Harry sharing a look before turning back to Malfoy.
"Anyway..." Malfoy's eyes flitted to the dark corners of the room before he refocuses on the bulky boys in front of him. "I wish I knew who the Heir actually was. I could help them."
That statement shocked the three Gryffindors, Ron the most as his mouth dropped open. Harry recovered quickly and made sure Malfoy wasn't lying.
"You must have some idea..." Harry says, putting just the right amount of stupidity into his voice.
"You know I haven't, Goyle, how many times do I have to tell you two?" Malfoy snapped angrily. "And father won't tell me anything about the last time the Chamber was opened. Of course, that was fifty years ago, so before his time. But he knows all about it. He just doesn't tell me anything because it would be suspicious if I knew too much after it was all kept quiet." Malfoy leans in with a sly grin. "But I know something to be true, last time the Chamber was opened a Mudblood died. It's only a matter of time before it happens again, I hope it's Granger."
Ron and Alucard's fists clenched in anger, but they were able to contain themselves from punching Malfoy after Harry sends them a warning look.
"Was the person who opened it caught?" Harry asks.
"Oh, yeah... whoever it was got expelled." Malfoy says casually. "They're probably still in Azkaban."
"Azkaban?" Harry asks, completely puzzled by the term.
"Azkaban, the wizard prison, Goyle." Malfoys says disbelievingly. "Really, if you were any slower you would be going backwards." Malfoy then shifts in his chair. "Father says to keep my head down and let the Heir do their thing, he says they might be able to rid the school of the filth like Mudbloods and Juvatich, and to not get involved. He's got a lot on his plate at the moment... You know the Ministry raided our Manor last week?"
Harry and Ron fix a bad version of concern onto their faces. Malfoy nods.
"Yeah..." Malfoy sighs. "Luckily, they didn't find much. Father's got some really valuable Dark Arts stuff. But we've got most of that hidden away in a secret chamber under the drawing-room floor-"
"Ho!" Ron exclaims, then clutches his stomach when Malfoy and Harry look at him. "Sorry, stomach cramp." Then Harry and Alucard notice that not only was his cheeks turning red, but also his hair and his nose was lengthening, the Harry's eyes started turning more green and his face got skinnier, making both boys jump up. "Medicine for my stomach." Ron grunted before he and Harry bolt, Alucard rushing after them.
The two visible boys quickly returned to their normal proportions as they drop off Crabbe and Goyle's shoes at the cupboard where they left them before sprinting into the bathroom where Hermione was still waiting for them.
"That was informative." Alucard says, taking off the Cloak and cancelling his Disillusionment Charm, revealing his grin. "We can cut Malfoy from our list of suspects, I now know the Slytherin dorm password, we can send a letter to Mr Weasley to check under the Malfoy's drawing room, and we know when the Chamber was last opened."
"Really?" Hermione asks excitedly. "That's loads we can use, but why should Mr Weasley look under the Malfoy's drawing room?"
"Because, apparently the Malfoy's had their Manor raided by the Ministry and they had a secret room under their drawing room where the nasty stuff lives." Ron explains with a grin to match Alucard's. "Dad will love to have something on Malfoy." Ron and Harry then move into their stalls to change back into their own robes.
"So, what did you learn exactly?" Hermione asks, pulling out a quill and some parchment. "We could try and make a plan based on what we've learned."
"First, Malfoy has no clue who the Heir of Slytherin is. But, he knows that the Chamber of Secrets was opened about fifty years ago and his father knows all about it, even if it was before his time." Alucard starts the list. "Second, a Muggle-born was killed last time it was opened, although we don't know who it was thanks to Malfoy's father not giving him enough information to seem suspicious."
"Okay, then we still need to figure out who the Heir is, we can narrow it down by anyone related to people who lived at that time." Hermione mutters, jotting down notes on the parchment. "Is there anything else we can use to narrow it down?"
"Yeah, apparently whoever opened last time was apparently expelled and there is a chance they are currently in Azkaban." Alucard says, trying to think of places he could find information like that. "I don't think we can find anything about that in a book, and asking a teacher wouldn't be smart. I might be able to ask my parents if they know anything about it, but they may also try and stop us from looking into it."
"That's true..." Hermione says, looking down at the parchment in thought. "So, we either have to find who Lucius Malfoy knows that was at Hogwarts fifty years ago, or find whoever died when the Chamber was opened. This isn't going to be easy."
"We never thought it would be." Alucard counters with a shrug. "We've still got to at least try. We should also find somewhere where we can get you three up to scratch with your defensive and offensive spells."
"Why?" Hermione asks, confused by the sudden topic change.
"Maybe for fun? Or maybe because there's someone going around Petrifying people and we have no clue who it is or how they do it?" Alucard asks, making Hermione look slightly embarrassed. "I'll see if I can find somewhere to practice, I'll tell you once I've got one."
"Okay, right. Well then, I research some spells that might be useful, maybe ask Professor Lockhart-"
"Ergh, you still think he's any good at Defence?" Alucard groans. "You've been in his lessons, right? You saw him at the duelling club! He has no idea what he is doing!"
"Why would Dumbledore hire someone who doesn't know what they are doing?" Hermione counters.
"Because he was the only one who applied for the job. Hermione, if the third-years know more magic than the teacher, is the teacher really qualified? Look at it objectively, Hermione." Alucard says seriously, staring straight into her eyes. "Lockhart hasn't taught us anything useful, hell, Snape taught us more than Lockhart did at the duelling club, dammit, I taught the rest of the school more than Lockhart has in one duel than he has in months." Alucard sighs.
"Lockhart isn't someone to be admired, he's not a good teacher, he isn't good at Defence, and he lies in his books. Just. Stop. Defending. Him. Okay?" Alucard says.
"But-" Hermione tries to say something before Alucard ruthlessly interrupts her.
"Name one thing he's taught you that doesn't have to do with not releasing Cornish Pixies in class or that someone else showcased in his lesson." Alucard challenges her. Hermione opens her mouth before frowning and looking down in thought. Alucard watches her in silence as the other boys leave them to it, having heard from the stalls.
"I-I... You're right... I can't think of anything." Hermione says, something settling into her eyes as she looks back up into Alucard's eyes. "Okay, Lockhart isn't qualified, then who can we go to for Defence tips? Or even just duelling tips?"
"Flitwick." Alucard answers instantly. "He's the Charms Professor and Head of Ravenclaw for a reason, and the fact he was the UK Duelling Champion for over ten years when he was younger, probably could still be if he stuck with it."
"Right, so we can go to Flitwick for tips if we get stuck with something or a difficult spell." Hermione says, writing something down. "McGonagall could probably also help us if we want to get better at casting spells in general, we just need to not make her suspicious about why we need to improve."
"She probably won't ask why the top students in their respective years are trying to improve, especially you." Alucard mutters. "Okay, we can make more accurate plans once we're in the common room. Have you finished your holiday homework?"
"I just need to finish my Potions essay on the Ice potion, I'm finished with the effects and I just need to discuss how the potion's brewing process have changed over time, including the change they added last year." Hermione says, turning to look at Alucard. "Thank you for that by the way, now there's more work for every second-year at Hogwarts because you talked with Snape last year."
"Ah, sorry about that, I was just trying to distract him." Alucard smiles. "But for what its worth, I'm already known for improving a potion while still only in second-year."
"That is something to be proud of." Hermione relents. "Lets hope you don't become more famous every year."
"Hermione, I'm a one of a kind, I'd be famous even if I didn't do anything impressive." Alucard shrugs. "Sorta like Harry."
"Hmm..." Hermione hums thoughtfully.