Okay, so this chapter took a couple of rewrites to get right. Now, I think I've got it right this time, but we'll see. :)

Frodo wasn't the only one who heard about the attack on Colin Creevey. When news spread about the school, the first years stayed in tight-knit groups. Students also traded in for talismans and amulets. Neville bought some as well and, even though he was a pure-blood, he claimed that he was as close as he could get to being a Squib, which meant a witch or a wizard born without magic, even when their parents did have magic in their veins.

Ginny and Aria were especially unnerved. Ginny sat next to Colin for Charms class. Aria, on the other hand, only met Colin between breaks, when he wasn't busy trying to get hers and Frodo's autographs. And yet, with Colin Creevey petrified, thoughts took form amongst the students and staff. Some of those thoughts were not very promising.

But hardly any of the hobbits, authors and authoresses had time to dwell on the Chamber of Secrets – sadly, Frodo was still thinking about the chamber and the hunt to discover if Lotho was one of Slytherin's heirs – for the next Saturday morning, Frodo and his classmates were in Sindri's class, working on their written and practical exams. As the written exams were taken, students were called into the adjoining classroom, where they did their practical exams. Once more, the practical exams were run by a proctor, but it was a dwarf proctor for this year.

"Frodo Baggins," the proctor called, reading through the list.

Frodo put his quill down, closed the ink bottle and followed the proctor into the adjoining room. This room, this time, looked very similar to Flitwick's classroom, with etched writing along the walls. Books were stacked up on all sides of the room. Frodo was astonished.

"Now," the dwarf proctor read on, "as I understand, your focus is on hand magic." He examined his clipboard once again, before looking at Frodo. Grabbing a nearby stone, the dwarf proctor instructed the hobbit student, "Freeze this stone in mid-air."

"Wha -?" Frodo was cut off the moment the dwarf proctor threw the stone in the air. Automatically, he raised his hand. An invisible wave stopped the rock enough for it to float in the air. Frodo was impressed, even with himself.

"Light the stone, send it ablaze," the dwarf proctor told him. Frodo waved his hand, causing his hand magic to engulf the stone in a duo batch of orange flames. The proctor said, "Very well. Now jinx it, so the stone becomes a pumpkin head."

That spell Frodo knew. Chuckling a little, he swiped his hand in the air, jinxing the stone into a pumpkin head for a moment. He waved an index finger to his magical hand. The stone retained its first form.

"Well, well indeed." The dwarf proctor instructed, "Now transfigure the stone into a rabbit slipper."

Oh no. How was he to do… oh, Frodo remembered. Waving his hand in a half circle, the stone transfigured into half a rabbit slipper. He nearly had it… no, he felt his body tremble. His hand dropped, allowing the stone to drop. As he held onto his knees, he looked up. The slipper was there, and then transfigured back into a stone. Before he toppled over, he collapsed onto a chair. He looked up to see the dwarf's face.

"Thank you," Frodo said, politely. "Did I pass or…"

"By a fleeting miracle, the stone was turned into a rabbit slipper." The dwarf proctor told him. "Why don't you rest for a minute." He replied, "The exam's nearly finished."

Frodo took several deep breaths. By a miracle, he managed to transfigure the rabbit slipper. He couldn't help it. His hand magic was becoming raw and out of control. How was he able to complete the transfiguration part of the exam? He wanted to ask, but he feared the proctor would write down what he said, thinking it was out of his mind.

Frodo's thoughts were brought back to the present by the dwarf proctor, who asked him: "What have you learned in this Introductory class?" The proctor looked up at him. "Also, what do you hope to take away from this year?"

"Learning to control my hand magic, but…" Frodo looked down at his hands. They were sparking and tingling. "Why is my hand magic overreacting this year, more so than last year?"

"It might be from distractions. Is your mind restless?" The dwarf proctor asked. Frodo nodded. The proctor explained, "Whatever's on your mind, you need to face this." He asked next, "Is there anything you'd like to say?"

Should he tell the dwarf proctor about his parents, Aria, the Chamber of Secrets and how everyone thought he was one of Slytherin's heirs? Frodo let go of the thought, at least for now. He shook his head. "No. There isn't."

"All right, you can go," the dwarf proctor approached the door first. Frodo waved to the proctor before reentering the classroom.

Minutes passed before Sindri spoke to the class again. Minutes beforehand, Frodo finished the written exam, double-checked it for any mistakes, and handed it in. As Sindri spoke, the class learned something new, "Now, before this term is out, everyone here – yes, I do mean hobbits and authors alike – will be able to sign up for electives in this chamber. This natural, if you wish to spread out your classwork for something more creative. There will be a number of electives to choose from, ranging from crafting and writing, to book clubs. Basically, your variety of electives, magical and non-magical." Murmurs spread amongst the students. This was going to be an exciting term.

Sindri spoke again. "Now, I hope you all learned something from this class. For some of you, that means understanding hobbits to understanding authors and authoresses." He said last, minutes before the bell rang, "The exam results will be posted on the notice board in two weeks. I hope you all have a good rest of the term."

DONG! DONG! DONG!

The bell rang slowly, signaling to the students that class had ended. Frodo grabbed his books and supplies before heading out. As he slung his satchel over his shoulders, Frodo ran into Aria. However, Aria was too distraught to say anything. Frodo grabbed her hand, stopping his authoress in mid step.

"Aria, Madam Pomfrey will heal Colin," Frodo told her. "Just give her time."

"Time is all we need." Aria moved away, rushing off down the corridor.

Frodo heaved a sigh of frustration. He would try again someday soon to get Aria's attention, as well as get her to talk to him some more. But when would that day come? He needed to see his friends, and check on the Polyjuice potion. Leaving Aria be, Frodo ran towards the nearest portrait hole and climbed through. Well, it was only a matter of time before the potion Hermione was brewing was finished.

Two weeks later, Frodo looked at the notice board. He passed the exam, but still had trouble with Herbology. Somehow, the proctor and Sindri liked his focus on hand magic, even congratulating him for his efforts. It really was a time for celebration. And yet, Frodo looked down at his hands. They were still sparking blue hisses of crystal magic…

-.-.-

On the second week of December, Professor McGonagall came around with a list for students spending the holidays at Hogwarts. Harry, Ron and Hermione signed up, for they heard that Draco Malfoy was spending the holidays at the school. Frodo was especially interested in signing up, for Lotho had decided to spend the holidays there as well. Between Frodo and the Golden Trio – Harry, Ron and Hermione as the authors and authoresses nicknamed them as – the fact that Lotho and Draco Malfoy were staying was suspicious. They had to find out if they were Slytherin's heirs.

"Pippin and I will return to Hogwarts, when term resumed," Merry addressed them.

"Let us know what you've found out then," Pippin answered.

"Okay. Let me know how your holidays are at home," Frodo replied.

"We will, Frodo," Merry said, nodding.

Merry and Pippin weren't the only ones ready to go home. Fatty and Folco had decided to journey back to the Shire as well. As for Sam… well, he and his brothers and sisters were spending the holidays at Hogwarts. Frodo was glad of this. He needed one of his kin by his side with this ordeal. And, in spite of his warnings about brewing the potion, Sam stuck by Frodo. Even Frodo could see that Sam had grown in confidence.

But that didn't stop Harry and Hermione from collecting ingredients from Snape's office, during their lesson. Frodo was relieved they came back safe and sound. The potion was nearly complete, now that the shredded boomslang skin and the bicorn horn were in their grasp.

-.-.-

A week passed. On the third week in December, a dueling club began to take shape in the Great Hall. That evening, Frodo accompanied Harry, Ron, Hermione and Sam in the Great Hall, which was transformed to have a stage in the center of the hall, with benches found along the walls. As the four friends entered the Great Hall, they met up with Fred, George, Sam, Merry and Pippin.

Frodo asked the group, "Has anyone seen Fatty, Folco and our authoress friends?" He wanted to include Aria, but… he didn't know. Honestly, if she was a witch – he thought all authors and authoresses had some sort of magical abilities in them – no, maybe he was overanalyzing this. However, he received blank stares from his friends. "What? Don't all authors and authoresses possess magical qualities?"

"From my research that I found on them," Hermione interjected, "authors and authoresses don't have the same magical skills that we do. In other words, their magic is not the same as ours."

"So they do possess magical…"

"If you mean it that way, then yes they do. But it's different to each author and authoress. Not everyone has the same abilities or focus to another,' Hermione told him.

"Yeah, but how…" Frodo was cut off when Gilderoy Lockhart walked up on stage.

"Gather round, gather round! Can everyone see me? Can you all hear me? Excellent." Lockhart called. Everyone's attention was on him now as he delivered his introduction speech on the dueling club. Frodo understood what he was saying, but was stunned when Gilderoy was defeated by Professor Snape. However, the second Gilderoy was up and acting boastful, the hobbit boy shook his head. Typical, Frodo thought to himself.

Soon after, everyone was paired up. Frodo, thanks to Snape, ended up dueling against his rival, Lotho Sackville-Baggins. Great. This was just what he needed. Following Lockhart's instruction, Frodo and Lotho bowed, moving their wands to the ready position.

"I can't wait until Mum and Dad own Bag End," Lotho smiled wickedly. Frodo glared at him. There was no way Lotho and his parents would take Bilbo's home away from him.

Just when Frodo raised his wand, and Lotho readied himself, a spell was cast their way. Before Frodo had the chance to block the spell, his vision collapsed into a sea of orange. A sweet aroma of vegetable and sweet tart engulfed his nostrils. His neck closed, making it hard to breathe… he felt his head and body. Well, his body was all right, but his head felt very pumpkin… muffled voices were heard. By a counter-jinx, the pumpkin smell went away. His vision returned, as did his head. His hair smelled very much like pumpkin, and was wet. Wait…

The next he knew, Frodo was out in the middle of the Great Hall between him and Lotho. Harry and Draco were in the middle of the crowd as well. But there was something else. A snake conjured by Malfoy. Why did it…

"Stop!" Frodo cried almost at the same time as Harry and Sam. The snake slithered into a stupor. Frodo was shocked, but then so was everyone else at the Great Hall. Frodo just stood there, confused with everything that was happening… until Sam, Merry and Pippin dragged him out of the hall and into an empty classroom. They were followed by Harry, Ron and Hermione, who brought Harry into the classroom as well.

It was here that Ron and Hermione explained to Harry, Frodo and Sam that they were Parselmouths: they could speak to snakes. The conversation turned over a new leaf when Ron explained that the three could speak Parseltongue: the snake language. Frodo was as astonished as Harry and Sam. How could they speak to snakes, when they didn't know how or just heard Harry and Sam speak English and the Common Tongue. It made no sense. And more so that Hermione mentioned that Frodo, Sam and Harry would be the heirs of Salazar Slytherin, which wouldn't be easy to prove. In spite of their best interests, being thought of as Slytherin's heirs did not bode well with Frodo, Sam and Harry.

As for Merry and Pippin, they felt left out for a moment. However, the conversation was interesting. Maybe the authors and authoresses knew more on the subject. Oh wait. That's right. The Authors and Authoresses' Chamber was very nearly closed away from hobbits. It mad Merry wonder, as well as Sam and Pippin what they were doing, or what the Heads of the Authors and Authoresses were trying so hard to keep quiet. Frodo nodded in agreement, when the three hobbits explained the situation to them.

"Just try anything to get in there, as best you can." Frodo sighed, "First, hobbits aren't allowed to play Quidditch this year, Sam and me could quite possibly be Slytherin's heirs, and now the authors and authoresses are cut off from us, even though we live in the same dormitory."

"We'll find out what's happening," Merry said, clamping a hand on Pippin's shoulder. "Come on, Pippin. We've got some investigating to do."

"Hey," That got Merry's attention. Frodo asked him further, "You're not scared of me, what I am."

"Well… eh." Merry waved to him. "I'll see you later, Frodo."

"Wait for me," Pippin said, charging out the door. He waved back to Frodo, "See you later, Frodo. Don't let it bother you too much." Then he was gone, leaving Frodo alone with Sam, Harry, Ron and Hermione.

*.*.*

Frodo awoke from a strange dream, which involved him meeting a serpent in an underground chamber. A face appeared on the wall, representing a menacing figure, who grabbed the snake. Frodo finally awoke from the dream with hot sweat beading down his face and chest. It wasn't a particular friendly dream he had, and yet it made him wonder – with what Ron and Hermione were trying to tell him – if he was truly the heir of Slytherin.

It made no sense how he could speak to that snake in its snake language… but then, it didn't add up. How was he a descendant of Salazar Slytherin?

-.-.-

The next morning, shortly after he left his first class, Frodo was stopped by Professor McGonagall. Frodo was stunned, but then why was his teacher…

"Follow me, Mr. Baggins. We'll find Mr. Gamgee and… oh. Mr. Gamgee, come with us, please." McGonagall said, leading the hobbit boys over to a stone gargoyle. "Lemon drop."

The stone gargoyle spiraled up, revealing a spiral staircase. Together, McGonagall, Frodo and Sam moved onto one of the stairs. The two hobbit boys followed McGonagall until she left them alone. Frodo had a feeling this was Dumbledore's office.

So I guess this chapter follows The Chamber of Secrets book. Thanks for reading. More is to come. :)