As always, thanks for all the reviews, favorites, and follows. The chapter got too long (11,000 words), so I split it into two, and this is the shorter section. Hopefully, I'll be able to post the next one within two weeks since all but the last scene is already written, but right now I'm trying to juggle a lot, so no promises because I don't have a lot of time to write.

Chapter 10 – Suspicions

The crowd parted around Percy like he had a disease, but the shocked look on his friends' faces hurt him more. He had finally been accepted at a school and now this. In a firm, but not unkind tone, Dumbledore said, "If you please, Mr. Jackson, I just need a moment of your time." There was no accusation or even annoyance in that voice, so Percy just nodded and followed the others, along with Snape, McGonagall, and Sprout, into Lockhart's office. Of course, the room was covered with pictures of Lockhart's favorite person, himself. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Percy had to try hard not to laugh at the many Lockharts with their hair in rollers and nets as they quickly ducked out of their frames. One of them even had some green stuff all over his face.

Percy glanced at the three Gryffindors and could empathize with the worried expressions on their faces. At least he hadn't been caught at the crime scene, but he did have really bad luck when it came to getting blamed for things, so he was pretty worried for himself too. Dumbledore placed Mrs. Norris on Lockhart's desk, and Percy finally got his first good look at the cat. She was completely rigid with her yellow eyes wide and starring. He shuddered. It reminded him of all those statues at Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium except Mrs. Norris wasn't stone. Instead, it looked more like someone had stuffed her.

Dumbledore and McGonagall crouched over the cat while Snape watched from the shadows. He looked almost pleased until he saw Percy looking at him, and then he narrowed his eyes in suspicion. Percy quickly looked away. Professor Sprout was doing her best to comfort a sobbing Filch, patting him on the shoulder and giving him one of those old-fashioned, cloth tissues. Meanwhile, Lockhart kept spouting stuff about random deadly curses he had dealt with, and how he could've saved Mrs. Norris if only he had been there. After what felt like forever, Dumbledore finally stopped his pocking, prodding, and muttering and announced, "She's not dead, Argus." Argus? The familiar name surprised Percy. Filch must be named after the Argus, the security guard at Camp. No wonder everyone here accepted his full name so much easier than regular mortals. Naming people after Greek myths must be common in the Wizarding world.

"Not dead?" Filch gasped into the tissue. "But why's she all stiff and frozen?"

"She has been Petrified," Dumbledore answered.

"Ah! I thought so!" Lockhart exclaimed as if he hadn't already assumed the cat was dead, but everyone just ignored him.

"But how, I cannot say. . . ." Dumbledore finished. That shocked Percy. According to everyone he had talked to, Dumbledore was a super wise and powerful wizard, but if even he didn't know what had done that to Mrs. Norris, then maybe it hadn't been wizard magic. Maybe, it really did have to do with his dad's side of the family which could explain the creepy voice Percy had heard, again, when no one else seemed to. He would have to ask Annabeth the next time they talked. Maybe, she knew of a monster or god or some other immortal that liked to petrify cats. But that still didn't explain the strange writing on the wall.

"Ask him!" Filch shouted fervently making Percy flinch, but for once, Percy wasn't the one with the finger pointed at him. Filch was accusing Harry.

"No second year could have done this," Dumbledore reasoned, "It would take advanced Dark Magic."

But Filch wasn't listening to reason and yelled, "He did it, he did it! You saw what he wrote on the wall! He found – in my office – he knows I'm a –" Filch stuttered as if he was reluctant to admit something. "He knows I'm a Squib."

Percy almost felt bad for the grumpy old caretaker. He remembered his mom's own disappointment when she had found out she couldn't do magic, but she hadn't even known about magic until that day. He wondered how hard it must be for Filch to be surrounded by kids doing magic when he was unable to do any himself.

"I never touched Mrs. Norris!" Harry declared, "And why would I care if you were a Squib? Sorry, Percy, I know you don't like that word."

"It's okay," Percy muttered. Harry had a lot more to worry about right then than Percy's word preferences.

Snape stepped out of the shadows, with a sneer on his face that promised trouble. "If I may speak Headmaster, Potter and his friends may have simply been at the wrong place at the wrong time. But we do have a set of suspicious circumstances here. Why was he in the upstairs corridor at all? Why wasn't he at the Halloween feast? In fact, I do not recall seeing Mr. Jackson there either?" Snape looked pointedly at Percy.

"That's because we were all at Nick's deathday party," Percy explained. "Go ask Nick or any of the other ghosts. They'll vouch for us."

"Yet, how did just those three end up in the corridor?"

"We left the party early. We tried to tell you mate, but you were too busy watching the Headless Hunt," Ron said the last part to Percy.

"Why not join the feast afterwards?" Snape asked, continuing his interrogation.

Ron and Hermione looked at Harry, "Because – because –" Harry stammered, clearly stalling to think of something, "because we were tired and wanted to go to bed."

Snape smirked, "Without supper?"

"We weren't hungry," Ron replied as his stomach rumbled.

Even though Percy liked Harry, Ron, and Hermione, he had to admit that it looked suspicious. They'd left the deathday party at least a few minutes before he had, and the feast had just wrapped up when Percy had reached the Entrance Hall. So why hadn't they gone straight into the Great Hall to grab at least some desert? He knew Ron was lying, and they were hungry. His own stomach was grumbling about its own emptiness.

Snape grinned clearly sensing victory, "I suggest, Headmaster, that Potter is not being entirely truthful." He then tried to get Harry suspended from Quidditch. Snape sure was one sly old sot. Slytherin had a Quidditch match against Gryffindor in a little over a week.

Luckily, Professor McGonagall stood up for Harry, and finally, Dumbledore ended the argument after giving Harry one of those searching stares, "Innocent until proven guilty, Severus. However, I would like to ask Mr. Jackson something. Have you noticed or experienced anything strange or unusual over the past few weeks?"

Percy squirmed as all the eyes fell on him, including Dumbledore's X-ray gaze. Why was Dumbledore asking him that? Did he think this had something to do with his family? Dumbledore already knew they were dangerous. Percy thought of the voice that he'd heard twice now. But if it was connected to the gods, he needed to keep Dumbledore as far away from it as possible. He remembered Annabeth's advice to stick to half-truths especially since Dumbledore could apparently tell whenever he lied, "I don't know, Professor. It's a magic school. Everything is strange and unusual."

"I suppose that is true," Dumbledore acknowledged, "but if you notice anything strange that you cannot explain, even something as trivial as unusual dreams, or lapses in memory, I hope you will come to me. That goes for all of you in fact." Dumbledore swept his gaze over the three Gryffindors as well though it seemed to linger on Harry in particular. They all nodded though Percy doubted he'd ever tell Dumbledore anything about his dreams since unusual dreams were a regular occurrence for half-bloods. Percy noticed that Harry did not meet Dumbledore's eyes. He definitely was hiding something, too. "Very well, you may go."

Before they could even stand up, Filch screamed, "But my cat has been Petrified! I want to see some punishment!"

"We will be able to cure her, Argus," Dumbledore patiently explained. "As I understand, Professor Sprout has procured several Mandrakes. Once they mature, I will have a potion made that will revive Mrs. Norris."

"You'll see," Professor Sprout patted the caretaker's arm gently. "We'll get her back to normal in no time."

Before anyone else could shout at them, Percy opened the office door, only for Ernie, Justin, Hannah, and Susan to push past him. Ernie took a deep breath as if bracing himself before saying, "Professor Dumbledore, Percy couldn't have done it. He was at the deathday party and then ran into us at the entrance hall –"

"While your loyalty to your friend is admirable Mr. Macmillan, I do not believe Mr. Jackson is intentionally responsible for Mrs. Norris' current state," Dumbledore interrupted.

Ernie turned bright red, "Oh. Of course, sir. Sorry for barging in." Regardless, Percy was touched that his friends had tried to vouch for him.

On the way back to the common room, Percy said, "Thanks guys, for coming."

Justin patted his shoulder, "No worries Jackson, we've got your back. Well, except Smith, but if it makes you feel better, I swear he hesitated for a second before scurrying to the common room."

"What did Dumbledore want you there for anyways if he didn't think you did it?" Susan, ever the practical one, asked.

Percy shrugged, "I don't know. He just asked if I'd seen anything weird."

They all stopped at the secret entrance to the kitchen. "Percy, how did you know something was happening when we ran into you at the entrance hall? How did you know someone was in danger?" Ernie asked.

All four of his friends looked expectantly at him. He knew he probably shouldn't tell them, but they'd been willing to stand up to the Headmaster for him. They deserved to know the truth. Besides, they weren't Dumbledore who was already getting too close to the secret of the gods and half-bloods. If it turned out the voice did have something to do with the godly side of the family then he'd find a way to play it off and keep his friends out of it. "It's going to sound crazy, but I heard a voice." They all looked at him surprised. "You remember that first weekend here as we were walking to our dorm, I asked if you guys heard the creepy voice saying stuff about ripping and tearing and killing?"

Ernie and Justin nodded. "But I thought that was a joke?" Justin asked with wide eyes.

Percy shook his head, "I wasn't sure what it was, and I didn't want you guys thinking I was crazy or anything. I thought maybe I was just tired and had imagined it, but right after I left the deathday party, I heard it again. It was faint and above me, but I heard it say, 'Time to kill,' so I ran up to the entrance hall looking to stop it and ran into you guys." No one spoke for a moment as all his friends looked at him in concern.

"Did you tell Dumbledore?" Susan asked.

Percy shook his head, "I wasn't going to tell the Headmaster that I'm hearing voices. Besides, nothing happened after the first time. Maybe, it's something else. You guys don't think I'm crazy, do you?"

"Oh, you're crazy, Percy," Hannah said with a grin, "but we knew that way before tonight. And we like you anyways."

That made Percy smile, "Thanks Hannah."

"But hearing voices like that is strange," Ernie said seriously. Well, it wasn't exactly strange for Percy. He'd had a goddess in his head for half a month and had telepathically talked to a ghost horse a few hours earlier. "If it keeps happening, you should really consider telling Dumbledore even if it doesn't have anything to do with Mrs. Norris' attack and this Chamber of Secrets."

"What is that anyways?" Percy asked.

"We don't know," Susan answered. "We talked a little about it while we were waiting for you. It sounds familiar, like a ghost story my Auntie told me long ago."

"We also wondered what Potter, Weasley, and Granger were doing there," Ernie added. "You think they have something to do with it?"

Percy shook his head, "I don't think so. But I do think they're hiding something. It just doesn't make sense for them to end up in the corridor instead of going to the Great Hall for food." That's when Percy's stomach decided to growl.

"We can figure out about secret chambers and cursed cats later," Hannah said. "You should eat." She grabbed his arm and dragged him into the kitchen.

Percy's friends insisted on coming with him, even though he told them they didn't have to. As Percy ate his very late dinner, his friends sipped on hot chocolate. An awkward silence hung in the air as everyone thought about the strange events of the night until Justin asked, "So how was the deathday party?"

"Lively," Percy replied with a somewhat forced grin and launched into the story of how Sir Patrick had lost his body. Of course, he left out the part about talking to the ghost horse. Within minutes everyone was laughing. Despite everything that had happened that night, Percy laughed right along with them. This was why he'd wanted to be in Hufflepuff.

The next morning Percy woke to someone pounding on the dorm door and shouting, "House meeting in the common room – fifteen minutes."

"Why?" Percy grumbled.

"Reckon, it's about Mrs. Norris and the Chamber of Secrets," Ernie supposed. "Better get moving, so we can get a good spot."

Eight minutes later Percy was wedged on a couch between Justin and Zacharias as the rest of the House gathered into the cozy room in various states of wakefulness. Gabriel Truman stood by the fireplace with a thick book in his hand. Once the last stragglers had trickled in, the prefect said, "This looks like everyone. Thanks for coming. I know you are all eager to get to breakfast and start your day, but I thought we should call an emergency information meeting after last night. Thanks to Diggory's quick thinking of going to the library right after the feast, we got a copy of Hogwarts: A History." Gabriel held up a rather thick book. "There's a section in it about the Chamber of Secrets, so I figured you all might be interested in listening."

Percy could feel the tension in the room as everyone went completely silent. They all wanted to know what this Chamber of Secrets was. Gabriel opened the book, cleared his throat, and began to read, "The legend of the Chamber of Secrets is the most enigmatic of all tales concerning the establishing of Hogwarts. . . ."

Percy listened attentively as Gabriel described the four Hogwarts' founders and the rift that grew between Salazar Slytherin and the others because Slytherin believed that magical learning should be kept within all-magic families. Slytherin felt that students of Muggle parentage were untrustworthy given the persecution magic users faced during those times. Eventually, the disagreement between Slytherin and Gryffindor got so bad that Slytherin left the school, but before Slytherin left, he allegedly built a secret chamber in the castle. He sealed it, so none but his own true heir, could open the chamber and unleash the horror within that would purge the school of those whom Slytherin believed were unworthy of studying magic. Apparently, after nearly a thousand years of searching, most scholars agreed that the Chamber of Secrets was just a fanciful tale made up by Slytherin's supporters. Even Dumbledore doubted its existence, but Percy unfortunately knew firsthand that myths and legends had an annoying tendency to be much more real than people thought.

When Gabriel was done, a hushed silence filled the room until an older girl asked, "So what's this horror supposed to be?"

Gabriel shrugged, "It doesn't say."

"I bet it's a really scary monster," a third-year boy conjectured.

"Or it could be a terrible curse," another girl proposed.

Then everyone was talking panicky at once. Percy glanced at Justin and his usually animated friend looked almost as pale as a ghost. Gabriel shouted, "Oi!" He waited for the room to quiet again. "Everyone calm down. We don't even know if this thing is real."

"Something got Mrs. Norris," Zacharias retorted.

"No one's denying that, Smith" Cedric said from his spot by the fireplace. "But I didn't get the book for you all to cause a mass panic. I wanted you to know the legend, so you could be prepared. Regardless, if the Chamber of Secrets is real or not, someone wants us to think it is, and Muggle-borns might be targeted." Percy felt Justin shrink further into the couch. "Now, we all know Dumbledore's going to put a stop to this as soon as he can, but in the meantime, I think we should be careful which is very different than panicking. Hufflepuffs stick together, and we're going to do just that. Those who come from wizarding families, stay close to the Muggle-borns in your year. If anyone's targeting Muggle-borns, they're going to be in for a nasty surprise because if someone goes after one of us, they go after all of us. Try and do what you can for your friends in other Houses and spread the word." Once again, Cedric's words were met with cheering. The older boy blushed like he hadn't realized he was talking to a crowd in the heat of the moment and quickly ducked back to his spot. Percy was starting to realize that Cedric was one of those people who didn't speak often, but when he did, he was someone worth listening to.

"We got you, Justin," Ernie reassured their friend with a pat on his back as they headed to the Great Hall for breakfast. "We're not going to let any Slytherin heir get you, right?"

"Right," Percy answered along with Susan and Hannah.

Ernie glared at Smith, "Alright, alright," the annoying boy finally grumbled.

"Thanks guys," Justin said with a smile. "That means a lot."

The next few days all anyone talked about was the attack, and at least half the school seemed convinced that Harry was Slytherin's heir including Percy's Hufflepuff friends. "I really don't think you should still be partnering with him in Herbology, Percy," Justin told him over lunch. "I mean he knows your mom's a – you know, non-magical with magical parents. He could go after you next. That's why Filch's cat was attacked, right?"

"Justin's right," Ernie agreed. "Potter's dangerous."

Percy groaned, "Not this again." It had been an ongoing disagreement where Percy's friends would not so subtly suggest that Percy spend less time with Harry. "Guys, I really don't thing Harry's this Heir of Slytherin for starters he's a Gryffindor. Shouldn't the Heir of Slytherin by in Slytherin?"

"Not necessarily, he could have fooled the Hat," Ernie suggested.

Percy snorted, "I didn't think you could fool the Hat."

Ernie shrugged, "My old man told me about this bloke Sirius Black. He came from a long line of Slytherins, but the Hat put him in Gryffindor for some reason. Later, he ended up joining You-Know-Who and mass murdered a whole lot of muggles. He's rotting in Azkaban now. Seems like he should've been in Slytherin with the rest of his blood purist family and dark wizards."

"Azkaban?" Percy asked.

"Wizard prison," Susan answered with a shudder. "My Auntie says it's dreadful there."

"Good to know, I'll try to avoid it," Percy joked, but no one laughed. "Oh, come on guys, Dumbledore even said the magic was too advanced for a second year."

"Well, he wouldn't have to do the magic if there's a monster," Justin supplied.

"It's Potter, alright," Zacharias agreed. "He always has to be in the spotlight. Might even be some elaborate plot, so he can play the hero again."

Percy shook his head, "I don't know what you're talking about Smith. From what I've seen, Harry tries to avoid the spotlight, but it just keeps following him. Besides Hermione's one of his best friends, he wouldn't go after Muggle-borns."

"Not her," Ernie agreed, "but everyone knows he hates those Muggles he lives with and even you said he was hiding something the night Mrs. Norris was attacked."

"Maybe, you should keep hanging out with him," Zacharias suggested though the others glared at him. "That way you can find proof that it is him."

"Sounds like a plan," Percy agreed. "So maybe when I find proof that Harry isn't the Heir of Slytherin, you worriers can stop nagging me about spending time with my friends."

"Great, Smith, now he'll spend even more time with him," Ernie complained.

Zacharias shrugged, "Better him than me," which only made the other Hufflepuffs glare at him even more. "Besides," he added as an afterthought, "It's for the good of the school and all that."

Percy had been worried about trying to IM on Sunday since Myrtle's bathroom was so close to the scene of the attack. Filch had been guarding it, but luckily, he went right before dinner, and the caretaker wasn't around. Myrtle was absent as well. He figured she was still upset about Peeves and had vanished to the plumbing and lake, like she seemed to do at least once a month.

"This really isn't good," Annabeth said after Percy had explained everything to her. "I thought one of the pluses of you going there was that there would be less monsters."

"So, do you think it has something to do with the godly side of the family?" Percy asked.

Annabeth bit her lip, something she did when she was really thinking. "I don't know Percy. This whole Chamber of Secrets legend makes me think it's a wizard issue, but then what's that voice you keep hearing? Though as far as I know, there isn't a monster that can do what you described. Medusa probably was the closest, but like you noticed, whatever this is just petrifies its victims instead of turning them into stone, so I don't know. I suppose at full strength the Lord of Time could do something like that and maybe, freeze time for an individual. However, he definitely couldn't do that in his current state, much less why he'd target a random cat. Plus, that voice, even if the person or monster was invisible, other people should hear it too," she reasoned, "unless it is an immortal speaking directly to your mind. I wonder . . ." she twirled a lock of her hair around her finger as she thought, "When the zebra talked to you, you heard it in your mind right?"

"Yep," Percy answered. "Same thing with the ghost horse."

"Well, maybe this voice is the same thing," Annabeth suggested. "Maybe, whatever it is, is a creature under your father's domain that way only you could hear it."

"So, you're saying this monster's an invisible horse?"

Annabeth shrugged, "Or sea monster?"

"In the middle of a castle hallway?"

"I'm still working out the details," she admitted. "And there's a good chance the monster isn't Greek. I'm pretty sure there are several horse-shaped, water monsters in Scottish folklore, and you already said that your friend Hagrid found a Kelpie in a well. Even though those creatures aren't Greek, I suspect you would still be able to communicate with them."

"Okay, let's ignore the fact that they're water monsters that no one can see in the middle of a castle, can any of them petrify someone?" Percy asked.

"I don't know, and the most I can find are books about the legends. You would be better off looking for information in Hogwarts' library since at least those books know that Kelpies are real," Annabeth pointed out.

"Great, that's exactly what I want to do, spend more time reading in the library," Percy muttered.

"Well, at least you'll have less of a headache than I will, thanks to Hecate's glasses. Speaking of her, has she told you anything?"

"No," Percy frowned, "I think it might be some kind of test since she wants me to be her champion and all."

Annabeth nodded, "That sounds like something a god or goddess would do."

Percy, suddenly realized how late it was getting, "Thanks for the help, Wise Girl, but I still have to IM my mom, and if I go too much later, I'm pretty sure my friends will panic and send out a search party."

"Are you going to tell her?"

"That the supposed monster free school has a big bad wandering the halls that attacks animals and probably people associated with non-magic persons? No, I think I'll skip that part," Percy replied.

"I guess that's for the best, so she won't worry," Annabeth agreed. "But please be careful Percy."

Something in his chest tightened at her concern. "You know me, I'm always careful," he replied with a grin.

She rolled her eyes but smiled all the same, "Bye Seaweed Brain."