AUTHOR'S NOTE This chapter takes place the evening that Ron and Harry go down into the Chamber. I know that in the movie, no one was out of their dorms and it was probably a lot later at night, but this is a little bit of creative license. The Hogwarts year is almost up, which means that there are only a handful of chapters left! Hope you enjoy =) Thanks as always to my two Betas too.

DISCLAIMER Don't own Rowling's characters. Still.

Although she could not imagine how, Michelle woke up suddenly with the feeling that things were getting worse. Having fallen asleep over her history textbook, she'd awoken with a start and a foreboding feeling.

She unlocked her curtains to find her roommates gone. Wandering through her dorm, Michelle found her entire house gathered in the Common Room. Hiding to listen, she caught the end of what Professor Snape was saying.

"Professor McGonagall, as current Headmistress, has decided to send all students home if the girl isn't rescued soon."

Girl? Rescued? Michelle had no idea what was going on, but the dread in the pit of her stomach didn't want to know.

"Who's in the Chamber, Professor?" she heard Miranda ask.

"Yeah," added Random Burly Friend One, who Michelle thought was Crabbe. "Who did the monster grab?"

Michelle could barely stand up. Now she understood. A girl at Hogwarts had been kidnapped by the monster and taken into the Chamber of Secrets!

Professor Snape paused a moment before answering. "Ginny Weasley of Gryffindor."

Michelle had to sit down. Somewhere in her battered memory she remembered a bubbly red-headed first year girl.

"Four of my older brothers are already at Hogwarts. Two more already graduated. All in Gryffindor. I'll probably be in Gryffindor, too. I hope so!"

Ginny's voice floated through Michelle's mind like a ghost. Now she was in the dreaded Chamber. Of course, it had to be her. She was a Gryffindor. And Michelle had heard Draco speak horribly of the Weasley family multiple times. It had infuriated her.

"Oh no…" Michelle whispered as a sudden realization struck her. "She's George's sister!" She didn't even want to imagine how he would take the news of his baby sister.

She couldn't take it. Just when Michelle thought her world was being mended, it only broke apart again. She ran back up to the bedrooms and flung herself onto the bed in tears.

/

Three out of the four tables in the Great Hall ate in silence. Only Slytherin students seemed to have any energy. Some chatted idly, but it was nothing like before.

Suddenly, all the students were scared. Colin, Justin, Hermione, Penelope Clearwater, they were all petrified but it wasn't really serious. As soon as the mandrakes were old enough, everyone would be alright. But now a girl was missing. The monster had kidnapped her and no one knew what would happen.

Michelle gazed sadly at the Gryffindor table. As the house that had been attacked the most, all the students were subdued and silent. They had lost all spirit.

Three of the Weasley boys sat together. Percy sat on one side of the table with Fred and George on the other, their faces identically etched with worry and misery. Diana and Oliver sat together a little further up the table, picking silently at their food.

A soft hoot over her head caught Michelle's attention and she looked up to see an owl landing on the table next to her. "Hi Apollo," she greeted the bird. He dropped a letter on the table.

Dear Michelle,

Be careful. I love you, little sis.

Love, Diana

Fishing around in her bag, Michelle found a piece of parchment and a quill.

Dear Diana,

I promise. Snape says they might close the school. At least we'll be safe at home.

Love, Michelle

As soon as she handed him the letter, Apollo flew off.

Not five minutes later, a school owl dropped another letter in front of her.

Michelle,

I'm so sorry that you're stuck with your housemates! You can write to me anytime…one of my roommates is Penelope's sister and we don't sleep much anyway.

Cassandra

After a quick note back, that owl was off, too.

It was nice to know that people cared about her, especially with the simmering resentment toward her house. At least one student from all the other houses was in the hospital wing because of the Heir of Slytherin. Naturally, the Slytherin table received many bitter looks.

Michelle finished eating and asked Professor Flitwick to escort her down to the dungeon dorm. She had homework to do and it was easier when her roommates weren't there. When she was alone, she could do work at her desk rather than on her bed with Locking and Silencing charms on the curtains.

But even alone with her kitten, Michelle couldn't get any work done. She just couldn't concentrate. Her mind kept wandering to poor Ginny imprisoned by some horrible monster.

She remembered glimpsing the look of pure glee on Draco's face when Snape had told them Ginny was gone. It made her sick to think that she'd really ever liked him.

"Ugh!" she sighed in frustration. Hearing voices in the hallway, Michelle picked up her kitten and flopped onto her bed. Locking and silencing the heavy green drapes, she was safely isolated for the night.

She longed for her friends, together in Gryffindor tower or in the Ravenclaw dorm. She had no idea where the Ravenclaw dorm even was. Michelle was alone, but for the time being, she was safe. All she could do was lie there and wonder if her friend would be safe as well.

/

Michelle couldn't sleep. It was about 4:00 in the morning when she finally realized how guilty she felt. She was in Slytherin, the house of the monster, when she should have been in Gryffindor. She was the ex-girlfriend of the most vocal enemy of the Weasley family.

Ginny was the first person she'd met at Hogwarts. They'd rode together on the train, both nervous and excited to finally start school at Hogwarts and follow in their siblings' footsteps.

And to top it all off, Michelle was becoming more and more infatuated with Ginny's older brother every day. George made her feel safe. He treated her like another student rather than a head case who he'd saved from committing suicide.

"Stupid!" she whispered, putting her head in her hands. "This is so stupid!" She'd made the mistake of her life when she chose Slytherin and now she knew it. She was stuck with people who despised her and separated from her sister and true friends.

The one time she'd seen George in the Great Hall, he hadn't left Fred's side. Michelle had never really understood how deep their bond went until she saw them grieving. It was as if they were of one mind and emotion in two bodies.

Rolling over, she closed her eyes tight, praying to fall asleep. When she finally did, it was only an hour and a half until she was awoken by the alarm for breakfast time.

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