Chapter 9
Follow the Leader (Hermione)
My name is Hermione Granger.
Harry acted strange all day Tuesday. He jerked every time he saw an animal. He wouldn't let Crookshanks, my cat, near him. He shied away from insects of all kinds. Every time Ron came near him or touched him, he shuddered.
Ron was acting strange too. He didn't notice Harry's behavior. When he was standing, he was always leaning against something. He didn't laugh at the stupid things Harry said in a bantering tone. He didn't mind the way Harry shivered when he touched him. He seemed pleased that Harry seemed to fear him.
We walked down the corridor in silence. A boy came toward us. He was wearing… I stared. He was wearing bike shorts and a spandex top. Ron shot the kid a funny look. "I have to go to the bathroom," he said, and hurried off down the corridor and out of sight.
"Meet us tonight," the kid said and then disappeared in the crowd.
I stared after him. "Who was that?" I asked. Harry shrugged. "His name is Jake. I met him last night. He's a… er… uh… Ravenclaw sixth year." He lied. I could tell he was lying. It doesn't take someone that long to tell what House and year a person is in.
I bit my lip and sucked on my teeth. I knew what I was going to do, but I didn't like it. I furrowed my brow and told myself that it was for Harry's good, not to satisfy my curiosity.
That night, I snuck up into the boy's dormitory and snitched Harry's invisibility cloak. I hid myself under it and stayed there for hours. Eventually, all the boys went to bed. Slowly, they all fell into a sleep while Harry waited restlessly. I heard him shifting under his blankets.
At about eleven (for it was a school night and mostly everyone was asleep by now), Harry quietly opened his bed curtains and slid out of bed. He crept to his trunk in the moonlight, eyeglasses glinting. He rifled through his trunk and swore softly to himself when he couldn't find it.
Still, he got up and went out the door. He didn't bother to shut it behind him, much to my relief. I followed him down the stairs and almost had myself squashed when the portrait hole shut.
I trailed him down corridors, stairs, and secret passageways. I don't know how he managed not to run into Mrs. Norris and Filch. He stopped at the one place I knew very well: Moaning Myrtle's Bathroom.
He walked in and I followed him. He stopped in front of the sink. You know, the one that led to the Chamber of Secrets. I watched, transfixed, as he hissed something in Parsletounge. The sink glowed and opened into a huge pipe. He looked around, took a deep breath, and jumped.
I stood in horror and amazement for about two seconds. I gritted my teeth and looked down the pipe. I closed my eyes and squeaked as I jumped and hit solid pipe.
It took all I had not to yell as I zoomed down the pipe. I stood as soon as the pipe leveled out and looked about me with wide eyes. I had never been into the Chamber of Secrets before. I had heard Ron and Harry tell about it, but had never actually seen it.
I tailed him closely, giddy with shock and fear. Follow the leader, I thought. We stopped in one big room. There was a huge statue of Salazar Slytherin at one wall.
"Took you a long enough," said a sarcastic voice. I barely stifled a gasp and turned. There were people down here? I stared at the person who had spoken. He was just a kid. He was short and Hispanic looking.
"Sorry," Harry said. "I couldn't find my invisibility cloak."
The boy we'd seen earlier, Jake, came into view, followed by two other people. A hawk was resting on the shoulder of tall, blond, blue-eyed girl that had followed Jake. Then I saw… I don't know what it was. It looked so strange! It seemed like a blue centaur with an extra pair of eyes.
I couldn't stifle my gasp this time.
Harry whirled, wand already drawn. With a shriek that made me jump, the hawk took off. Before I could dodge, it took the invisibility cloak in its talons and flew away with it.
"Hermione?" Harry asked, eyes going very round.
The kid who had first spoken burst into hysterical laughter. The blond girl hit him. "Shut up, Marco!" she said, glaring. Marco wiped tears of mirth from his eyes. "Yes, O Tall One!" he said with a mock bow. As they spoke, I realized they were American.
I didn't see what was so funny about the situation. I think he may have been laughing at my name.
"Hermione, how could you?" asked Harry, looking hurt. But he also looked angry. Scarlet and gold sparks flew from the tip of his wand.
Is she a Yeerk? asked… I rubbed my eyes. The bird had just spoken… in my head!
"I don't know. Rachel. Cassie. Move behind her." Jake said. The two girls complied and moved behind me.
"What's going on?" I asked. My voice quivered as I spoke.
"Hermione, I… well, they… er…" Harry spluttered. He bit his lip and put his wand back in his pocket with a sigh.
Is she a Yeerk? the hawk repeated.
Harry blinked slowly. Suddenly, he twitched. He clapped a hand to his forehead and gave a yell of pain. He fell to his knees and stayed like that for a long time. No one moved until he got up again.
"Sorry," he said, still rubbing his scar. He chewed on the inside of his lip for a moment, then said, "I don't think she's a Yeerk. She's been studying and practicing magic all day."
"Of course I have!" I burst out indignantly. "How could I ever get good grades if I didn't practice!?"
"Hermione, you think a B+ is a bad grade," said Harry with a roll of his eyes.
Finally, one of the Americans spoke up. "What just happened?" Rachel demanded, "With the whole falling to your knees thing?"
"I didn't mean to. The pain in my scar took me by surprise. You see, whenever Voldemort is near, my scar hurts. Sorry." Harry replied. "Harry! Don't say You-Know-Who's name!" I gasped. He only shook his head soundlessly.
"How do we know she's not a Yeerk?" asked Rachel. Harry chewed on the inside of his lip for a moment. "One way to find out…" he muttered. He turned to me. "Hermione, I challenge you to a duel."
No one spoke for a full two minutes.
"But—but—I don't want to hurt you!" I squealed finally. Harry raised an eyebrow. I sighed and frowned. "Fine. Fine. I accept your challenge."
"Uh… I think everyone should move back a little. You don't want to get hit with a stray spell. It will have nasty consequences." Harry said. The six Americans backed away.
Harry moved in front of me. He raised his wand in front of his face and bowed. I followed suit. We never broke eye contact. "No Unforgivable Curses. The first one stunned loses." He said. I nodded.
He whirled as he straightened. "Expelliarmus!" he cried. I quickly said the shield spell, and it ricocheted off to the side. I flourished my wand. "Impedimenta!" I yelled. A jet of yellow light burst from the end of my wand. He shrieked the shield spell. The shield absorbed my spell and knocked him off his feet.
The shield faltered and fell away. I said the Jelly-Legs Jinx, but Harry rolled nimbly aside with his Quidditch reflexes. He jumped to his feet and yelled the Jelly-Legs Jinx right back, as I too yelled it again.
The two spells hit in midair, and rocketed to the side. I heard Marco give a cry of alarm as my jinx hit him. I gasped. "Sorry!" I cried. Harry took the opportunity to stun me. "Stupefy!" he shouted.
I cringed as I heard the word escape his lips. The spell hit me. I felt like I got hit over the head with a frying pan. I staggered and fell. The world spun. I saw Harry run over to me. My jaw trembled as I tried to speak, but then I lost consciousness.
A/N: Hey people! J Sorry this chapter took so long! I've been working on one of my original stories, and I'm proud to say it's forty-one pages long! I'm telling you, this is definitely not my best, but enjoy anyway! Stay tuned for Chapter 10: Who's House? (Cassie)!!
