Chapter Twelve
Back at the common room, Lily told Erica and John about what Moaning Myrtle had said. They sat in the chairs by the fire while other Gryffindor students sat at tables to do homework and talk with each other.
"Are you sure she wasn't lying?" Erica asked when Lily was finished. Lily nodded.
"I'm sure. Why would she lie about something like that anyway?" Erica shrugged.
John eyes looked up from the floor. "But wasn't the monster inside killed? Why would anyone bother trying to open it?" He looked back down at the floor.
"Do you know anyone who can speak parseltongue in school?" Erica asked. John immediately looked to Lily, as did Erica. Lily looked at them strangely.
"What?" Erica leaned closer. "Your father was a parselmouth. What if you are too?" Lily laughed lightly.
"Me? Yeah right." John and Erica still looked serious. John stood up and pulled out his wand and walked backwards a few steps.
"One way to find out." John said a word and a snake jumped out the end of his wand, landing on the floor near Erica's feet. Erica shrieked and pulled her legs to her chest. Lily, on the other hand, stood up.
Lily looked down at it and began to speak to it as the snake moved closer to Erica's seat. Don't touch her. Lily said warningly. The snake stopped and faced Lily. John said something else and it was gone. Erica took in a large breath of air.
John sat back down in his chair as every pair of eyes in the room was on them. Lily sat down too. John looked over at her. "Well that answers that." Erica sat up and kept taking in small, deep, breaths.
Lily knew what John was thinking. "I didn't go anywhere near the chamber. Don't look at me like that." John faced the fire.
"Are you alright Erica?" Lily saw that she was still in a panic. Erica nodded. "I hate snakes." Lily laughed with her slightly.
The next day as the first year Gryffindors sat in Defense Against the Dark Arts class, their professor sat at his desk in the front of the class. Erica stood up and walked to his desk to hand in her paper. After handing it to him she stayed to ask him something.
"Yes Miss Weasley?" Their professor was a ghost by the name of Nearly Headless Nick who instructed them to call him Sir Nicholas.
"Do you know why the Head Mistress and the other teachers were in such a hurry and running around the other day?" Nick looked at her with a strange face then answered.
"I'm not exactly sure. I think it had to do with some kind of plumbing problem." Erica sighed and said thank you before returning to her seat. She told Lily and John what he said.
"Well that would make sense. The chamber is in the bathroom." Lily said after hearing this.
The bell rung in the hallway and they stood to leave. As they started walking out a large rat ran in front of Lily, who stumbled. At the same moment it passed a great pain seared through her head. It felt as if her forehead was ripping open. She held her head. Erica stopped and looked at her.
"What's wrong?" Lily looked up carefully and the look on Erica's face told Lily that the pain was real.