Samantha sat quietly in McGonagall's office, fidgeting with her hair and trying to look anywhere but at McGonagall, Leslie, or Max.
"What were you two thinking?" Professor McGonagall asked them sternly, standing behind her desk. "Do you know how foolish it was of you to leave the castle? You could have been found by Slytherin's monster while creeping out or in. You gave Miss Carter here quite the scare!" she reprimanded.
"We're sorry Professor," Samantha said quietly. "We only wanted to have fun for a night."
"It's been rather boring, stuck in the common room for hours on end," Max added defensively.
"I don't care how boring it may become, Mr. Langbert, you and Miss Potter put yourselves and your friend in serious danger tonight with your reckless plans," McGonagall told them, cearly very angry with the pair, but her maternal instinct shing through.
"It was only my idea, Professor," Max said. "Don't be mad at Samantha. I suggested it. Punish me, give me detention for the rest of my Hogwarts career, even after, but don't be so harsh on her."
Samantha looked up and smiled softly at her boyfriend, wanting to kiss him like she had an hour ago, show him how much she cared about him.
Professor McGonagall surveyed Samantha, trying to decide if Max was to be believed. Samantha had the same personality as her father, but was bold and caring like her mother. She couldn't blame the girl for wanting to slip away for a while. After all, sneaking out and being a troublemaker was in her genes.
She couldn't write them off with so much as a strict talking to, however, and she had to remind them that their behavior was inexcusable, however much Samantha reminded her of the four troublemaking boys and one strong girl she ad taught not so long ago.
"Thirty points each from Gryffindor," McGonagall said.
Samantha tried not to let it show how annoyed she was about that, and hoped Gryffindor wouldn't be as mad at her and Max as they were at Harry, Neville, and Hermione the year before. She had seen how awful that had been for everyone involved, and didn't fancy the idea of having three fourths of the school turn against you.
"And you will be serving strictly supervised detention with me for the next month," McGonagall added. She looked over the three children sat in her office. Samantha looked very deep in thought, Max was watching the professor but every few minutes turned his head to Samantha, as if checking that she had not disappeared, and Leslie looked rather uncomfortable. "Is that clear?"
Samantha looked at McGonagall, really made eyecontact for more than a few fleeting seconds, for the first time that night. She nodded, signaling she knew what was expected of her.
"And if I catch either of you out of your common room at a time when you most certainly shouldn't be out, the consequences will be much more severe," Professor McGonagall said, reminding Samantha and Max that they may have gotten off easy with McGonagall this time, but if they made the same choice again, they would not have such an easy escape.
"Yes, Professor," Max said. He wasn't too eager to break any rules again, hoping that he could spend more time with Damon, Elias, and Connor now that he'd have the time.
"Alright. I will have to escort you back to the Gryffindor common room now, so if you will follow me…" McGonagall told the trio, and the four walked together through the halls, back to where the common room was. They passed by many stressed and tired looking Prefects and teachers, and Samantha wished there was some other way for the halls to be patrolled.
Once McGonagall made sure they were safely in the common room, she walked away to continue her patrolling duties, leaving the three to discuss what had just happened.
"Why'd you turn us in, Les?" Samantha asked. Her tone was not one of anger or accusation, but more of curiosity.
"I noticed you weren't in your bed. I realized you must have gone exploring, maybe even done soming so stupid as to try and catch Slytherin's heir by yourself. I told McGonagall that I couldn't find you, and we walked all around the castle seeing if you had been petrified, but had to come to the conclusion that you had left," Leslie explained. She was wishing she hadn't gone to McGonagall, so that if her friends had been caught, the blame wouldn't be put on her.
"I'm not mad," Samantha started. "But just… don't do that again, please. Sometimes we want alone time, or time to explore. You don't need to go to a teacher the second anything goes wrong," she explained.
"Exactly," Max agreed. "Sam and I, we can do anything, trust me. Now, I'm not too excited for a month's worth of detentions with McGonagall, but I know you were worried about us, so I'll let it slide," he joked, a smirk forming on his face.
"So… you're not going to resent me?" Leslie questioned. She'd been afraid of that from the moment she and McGonagall had relized Samantha was not anywhere inside the grounds of Hogwarts.
"Hm… maybe a little," Samantha considered, shifting her jaw to look extra thoughtful, but quickly breaking into a smile. "No, Leslie, of course not. I'll never resent you for more than a few days, and that's only if you royally screw up."
Leslie's expression seemed as if she wanted to hide the grin that was becoming quickly apparent on her face. "I promise to never let that happen," she said, holding out her pinky and not bothering to hide the smile that creeped onto her face.
"You better keep that," Samantha said after they made the pinky promise that was as good as and Unbreakable Vow in the words of small children.
"I'd have to cut my pinky off if I didn't, and I'm rather fond of having all five fingers, so don't worry about that," Leslie said happily. "Max, would you like to make this a triple pinky promise?" she asked, turning to the boy.
Max shook his head, and amused smile on his face. "I trust you two to keep it for me," he told them. "That's all I need."
"George, I need a favor," Samantha said, approaching the twin in the common room the next day. She had no clue where Fred was, and it surprised her to see them apart, but she couldn't think of that now.
"What is it you require?" George asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Do you know how to get to Hogsmeade without being detected?" Samantha asked.
"Haven't you just gotten detention for sneaking out?" George questioned, although mischief sparkled in his eyes.
"I don't want to sneak out. I need you to sneak out," Samantha told him. "You see, Max and I were recently in Hogsmeade, and left a rather important item there."
"And you need me to get it for you, because you can't," George finished.
Samantha nodded. "Would that be possible?" she asked him, very hopeful.
"Sounds right up my alley," George agreed. "Now, where is this item and what is it?"
Samantha looked around the common room, making sure no one else could hear what she was saying. "It's an Invisibility Cloak," she answered, "and we left it inside the Shrieking Shack."
If George had looked surprised at the mention of an Invisibility Cloak, it was nothing compared to the shock on his face when Samantha told him where it was.
"Why'd you go in there?" he asked, wondering what business anyone would have in there.
"Max and I wanted to explore it, see what was going on in there," Samantha responded carelessly.
"That place is crazy haunted, isn't it? No one goes there," George reminded her.
"Well, Max and I did. We walked through the whole house and there was nothing there but a few spiders and claw marks. Whatever was there isn't there anymore, and now it's just an abandoned house," Samantha said. "Look, the Cloak isn't far inside. Just walk in, grab it, and bring it back. I can't lose it."
George nodded, knowing this was important. "Alright. I'll do it. I can have it to you tomorrow morning," he said.
Samantha grinned. "Glad we've got a deal, Mr. Weasley," she said, shaking his hand as if this were some important business deal they had just agreed upon.
"Sam, when are you getting the Cloak back?" Harry asked his sister that evening in the common room.
"Why are you so desperate?" Samantha questioned, looking suspiciously at her brother.
"We need to do somethin with it," Harry answered, looking at Ron, who nodded nervously.
"Well, I'm sorry, but the soonest I can have it to you is tomorrow morning," Samantha said, shugging and returning to the Muggle Studies essay she was writing.
Harry looked frustrated, angry that he didn't have the Cloak and couldn't go following the spiders quite yet.
"Be patient, my dear brother," Samantha told him royally, "for you will have your fair chance to sneak about soon enough."
"Unlike you and Max, we actually need to do this," Harry bit back.
"For your information, that trip with Max was necessary. We needed to get out of the constraints of the common room. It was for our sanity, Harry. We would've gone insane trapped in here, and maybe we would even turn on you all, go join Voldemort or something," Samantha said thoughtfully.
Harry rolled his eyes, turning away from Samantha. "You'd think following the spiders would be easier…" she heard him mutter to Ron.
"What?" Samantha asked. "Spiders?"
Harry turned back to his older sister. He lowered his voice and whispered, "When we were in Hagrid's hut, he mentioned something about following the spiders as he was taken away. We haven't seen any spiders yet, but we'd like to be prepared for when we do."
"Spiders…" Samantha muttered, a memory on the brink of being unlocked in her brain. Suddenly, she gasped and stood up. "Spiders!" she said louder, causing a few students to glance curiously over before going back to what they had been doing.
"Why do you keep saying spiders?" Ron asked, fear evident in his eyes.
"Remember when we went to check out Myrtle's bathroom right after the attack on Mrs. Norris?" Samantha asked without pausing for an answer. "Well, the spiders were being very strange, weren't they? A whole line of them scampering out as quickly as possible!"
Realization dawned in Harry's eyes. "I need that Cloak, Samantha. As soon as you get it back, hand it over," he commanded.
Samantha nodded. She wished she could go with him, but she had detention, and even if she used the time turner, getting caught would get her into more trouble than she could even imagine. Besides, then she'd have to explain to Max how she had been in detention with him and the spiders with Harry, and that wasn't something she was too interested in getting into just yet.
Seeing as one of Samantha's detention punishments for the month was patrolling the halls, she couldn't talk to Harry right after he and Ron had followed the spiders, but she talked to him as soon as she saw him the next morning, pulling him, Ron, Leslie, and Max into a rather cramped broom closet while they were supposed to be eating breakfast.
"What happened last night? Anything good? Leads?" Samantha demanded, hopeful Harry and Ron had figured out what was in the Chamber of Secrets or how to defeat it.
Harry and Ron told the story of the giant spiders hidden deep in the forest, how Hagrid had been proven completely innocent, and the twist of the spiders trying to attack them while the Ford Anglia that had been lost in the woods helped them out.
"Nothing we didn't already know," Ron finished, sounding defeated.
"You mentioned a girl that died?" Samantha asked, the wheels in her brain beginning to turn. "In a bathroom?"
The realization hit Harry like a truck.
"Moaning Myrtle," All five of them said together, each making eye contact with the next.
"It's going to be impossible to get into that bathroom," Harry said.
"They're not even letting the girls in," Samantha added, and Leslie nodded in agreement.
"What do we do, then?" Max asked. "We've got to question her, but how would any of us get away long enough to be able to sneak to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom undetected?"
Samantha tucked some hair behind her ear, softly brushing her fingers agains the thin chain around her neck. "I may have a way…" she muttered. "It would only be me, though. I can't take anyone else."
"I want to go!" Harry protested, and everyone but Leslie murmured some type of agreement.
Samantha sighed. She couldn't let any of them in on the secret of her time turner. She'd made a promise and she intended on keeping it.
"Maybe," she said finally. "We'll have to find the perfect time, though. Maybe not even today."
"We can't wait! The heir of Slytherin could petrify all the Muggle borns if we don't stop this soon!" Ron protested.
"We're doing this my way," Samantha told him. "Besides, I have a lot of homework I need to do. And it's not like the Heir has been running rampant. The attacks have been slow and spread out. I doubt very much they'll be speeding up all of a sudden."
"Fine," Harry agreed reluctantly.
Something that had slipped from Samantha's mind in the chaos was exams. She hadn't thought at all about them in the past few weeks, and wasn't looking forward to the amount of studying she'd be doing.
As a result, the amount of sleep Samantha was getting was severely declining. She paid little attention during her History of Magic, Divination, and Muggle Studies classes, instead opting to complete homework or review something she knew she'd need. She scanned her History of Magic textbook, picking out important details or dates. She planned on winging her Divination and Muggle Studies exams, a thought that horrified Leslie. She didn't even bother rereading Lockhart's books, deeming them unnecessary and knowing she'd remember all of the random facts about him anyways. That left her with spells to perfect, runes to memorize, number charts to complete, creatures and plants to study, and potions to brew.
However, she didn't want a repeat of last time, and made sure the time turner got good use by getting her to that strange room she'd found with a bed, where she slept at her past self studied in the common room or wherever else she decided to go.
And to top it all off, Samantha was still serving detentions with McGonagall, cleaning things and patrolling halls with a prefect or teacher. She had never been busier, but she decided not to let the chaos have her crumble. She had done that before, and she was done with it. No, she'd teach herself how to thrive under chaos. Take control of it, even. Which was exactly what she did.
She made a schedule that she adhered strictly to, allowing herself little time for anything that wasn't necessary. Friends were necessary. She carved an hour out with them after classes, around eight when she could be sleeping with the time turner. Homework was done during every meal, hours after classes and into the night, and whenever else she could squeeze it in. It took very little time for her to do this, and three days before exams were set to take place, while she was not near as ready as she would like and would prefer to skip exams as a whole, she felt she could pass all of her classes if forced to take them then right then and there.
However, as she read over how to make a Girding Potion properly, she heard McGonagall call for the student's attention. Sighing, she shut the book, happy to have an excuse to put it away.
"I have good news," McGonagall announced. Instead of quieting down like was expected during announcements, there was cheering and shouts.
"Dumbledore's coming back!" made up several guesses.
"You've caught the Heir of Slytherin!" Samantha heard a girl squeal.
"Quidditch matches are back on!" Oliver Wood shouted hopefully.
Professor McGonagall waited for it all to quiet down before continuing. "Professor Sprout has informed me that the Mandrakes are ready for cutting at last. Tonight, we will be able to revive those people who have been Petrified. I need hardy remind you that one of them may well be able to tell us who, or what, attacked them. I am hopeful that this dreadful year will end with us catching the culprit."
Cheering erupted once more, everyone excited to get this dreadful and stressful year over with once and for all.
"It won't matter that we never asked Myrtle yet!" Ron said cheerfully. "Hermione'll probably have all the answers when they wake her up! Mind you, she'll go crazy when she finds out we've got exams in three days time. She hasn't studied. It might be kinder to leave her where she is till their over."
Samantha grinned as she thoughtfully went over everything in her head.
"Whatcha thinking about?" Max asked.
"How this nightmare will be all over soon. Ellie and Hermione will be awake, we'll be able to do fun stuff as a whole team before summer comes and we're separated once more…" she said happily. "And just all the evidence. Wondering what it was that attacked everyone."
"Spiders scared of it, Petrifies and kills people… Slytherin's monster," Max listed. "Oh, and Harry heard that voice."
Samanta nodded. She felt like she was so close to figuring it out, but she wasn't there yet. "We'll find out tonight, or tomorrow at the latest," she said, sighing. She wished she could figure it out on her own, but she just wasn't getting it.
Just then, Lauren came over, Ginny a few feet behind her. Lauren looked like she was going to be sick, and she sat nervously down in the spot next to Samantha.
"Hey, Laur. You don't look too good, are you sick?" Samantha asked.
Lauren glanced up and down the Gryffindor table, and back at Ginny. Harry noticed her then, and smiled.
"Hi Lauren!" he greeted.
"I need to tell you guys something," she mumbled, glancing at her hands.
"What is it?" Samantha asked, looking curiously at Harry to see if he had any clue what this was about, but he shrugged.
Lauren stood up, and held her hand out for Samantha to take. Samantha glanced at Lauren's face before slipping her hand into it's spot, felling the leather of her gloves.
Lauren began to lead Samantha away, and Samantha glanced back, mouthing "Come with me" to Harry, Ron, Leslie, and Max, who all stood up and followed, along with Ginny Weasley.
The were lead to a spot just outside the Grea Hall, where Lauren stopped waking and dropped Samantha's hand.
"What do you need to say, Laur?" Samantha asked, looking at her little sister.
Lauren looked anxiously at the faces around her before returning her gaze to the floor. She opened her mouth, but never got to say a word, because Percy Weasley walked up, curious as to why they had left the Great Hall.
"What do yo think you're doing?" he asked strictly, looking at the group of seven.
Lauren's eyes grew wide at the sight of him, and she seemed to slink back into the wall, looking at Ginny before the girls scampered away.
"Lauren just wanted to talk to us," Samantha said.
"She was going to tell us something important!" Ron added angrily.
Percy spluttered, looking shaken. "Well- I wouldn't… call it i- important," he said, not meeting their eyes.
"What is it?" Max asked, confused.
"It's nothing- nothing important. And it doesn't have to do with the Chamber of Secrets," he added.
"How do you know?" Ron asked.
"Well, er, if you must know, Lauren and Ginny, er, walked in on me when I was- well, never mind- the point is, they spotted me doing something, and I, um, I asked them not to mention it to anybody. I must say, I did think they'd keep their word. It's nothing, really, I'd just rather-"
Samantha opened her mouth, taking a breath before talking. "I… Percy, whatever you were doing, I don't think that's what Lauren wanted to talk to us about," she said, giving the boy a strange look.
"What were you doing, Perce?" Ron asked, grinning.
"It's nothing… now, back to the Great Hall, we can't have you separated while the monster runs rampant," he said.
Samantha's big break came during her Transfiguration class. The identity of the monster seemed to hit her like a ton of bricks, and she jumped out of her seat, wanting to run right away to the library.
"Miss Potter, what is it?" McGonagall asked.
Samantha froze, having forgotten she was in a classroom of people. "It- it's nothing, Professor. I'm sorry, I'll sit down," she said quickly. She was restless for the remainder of the period, and as soon as it was over, she jumped out of her seat and ran to a spot to turn back time, however instead of going to her Divination class, she ran to the library.
She quickly made her way to the section on animals, and found snakes soon after. She pulled out a book on the most deadly snakes, and flipped through, looking to confirm her theory. However, she discovered that someone had ripped out the exact page she needed.
She turned back to the table of contents, and realized she was right. She had to be. Slytherin's monster must be a Basilisk, or else no one would have ripped out the Basilisk page.
However, she didn't know enough on the animal to accurately tell a teacher everything, and needed confirmation as soon as possible. "Myrtle," she whispered.
She took a deep breath, exiting the library and joining a random group of fourth years on their way to a class. Just as she was approaching the bathroom, however, she saw a strange sight.
Harry and Ron were talking to Professor McGonagall, the rest of their class nowhere to be seen. Samantha ducked out of the students and hid behind a suit of armor until McGonagall walked away, then sprinted after them.
"Where are you going?" she whispered, startling them both.
"Sam! Where'd you come from?" Harry whispered back.
"I have a good idea on what Slytherin's monster is," she said. "I snuck away."
"Really?" Ron asked. "What?"
"A type of snake called a basilisk. I just need to get confirmation," Samantha replied. "Where are you off to?"
"We were going to see Myrtle, but McGonagall caught us and I told her we were trying to see Hermione," Harry informed her.
"I'll come with you," Samantha said suddenly, surprising even herself. "I have a feeling I should be there."
Harry and Ron glanced at each other before nodding, and the three rushed to the hospital wing.
"There's no point taking to a person who's been petrified," Madam Pomfrey told them as she reluctantly let them in.
Samantha looked first at Ellie, again seeing the fear in her eyes.
"Sam!" Harry whispered loudly.
"What?" Samantha replied, ripping her eyes away from Ellie.
"I found something!" Harry replied. "Come here."
Samantha walked over and saw what Harry was talking about. There was a piece of paper balled in Hermione's hand.
"Quick, get it out!" Ron said, and Harry carefully pulled the paper out of her fist, taking a few minutes so as to not rip it.
Samantha gasped when she saw it. "That's the page ripped out from the library book I looked at earlier!" she told them.
The three of them read over the passage about the Basilisk, and every piece of the puzzle seemed to fit together. Well, almost all. They still didn't know who the Heir was, but that could come at a later time. Right now, all they needed was the monster. Maybe then it could be stopped.
A light had been ignited in Harry's eyes, and Smanatha was relatively sure hers had the same spark.
"The basilisk kills people by looking at them. But no one's died- because no one looked it straight in the eye," Harry realized.
"Colin saw it through his camera," Samantha filled in. "The film burned up, but he was only petrified."
"Justin- Justin must've seen it through Nearly-Headless Nick!" Harry said excitedly. "Nich got the full blast, but of course he couldn't die again."
"Ellie saw it in the water," Samantha realized. "She was washing her hands, the Basilisk would've been behind her and she saw the reflection in the sink basin! And Mrs. Norris, with the puddle from Myrtle's tears!"
"Hermione and that Ravenclaw had a mirror next to them," Harry said. "Hermione probably warned her to look around the corner with a mirror first, and-"
Ron looked excited. "We've got it!" he said.
"The rooster is fatal to the basilisk, and Hagrid's roosters were killed," Samantha said.
"Spiders flee the basilisk, and we know that from Aragog," Harry added. "It all makes sense!"
"How does he get around, though? Someone's bound to notice a giant snake slithering around the halls," Ron pointed out.
"Pipes," Harry muttered, pointing to the word scribbled in by Hermione. "That's why I've been hearing it inside the walls!"
Suddenly, Ron came to a realization. "The entrance to the Chamber of Secrets! What if it's a bathroom? What if it's in-"
"Moaning Myrtle's bathroom," all three said together.
"We'v got to get there as quickly as possible," Samantha said. She had a rush of adrenaline go through her, and felt invincible. They had figured this much out, they could figure everything else out too.
"We need to tell McGonagall," Harry said. "Break is soon, we'll go to the staffroom."
Samantha knew Harry was right. They couldn't just go off to fight a deadly monster alone. "Alright," she agreed, pushing down the urge to go now. "Let's go to the staffroom."
Hi guys! Thank you all for reading this story. I wrote this part much faster than I expected so that's really fun. I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving if you celebrate, and if you don't, I hope you had a good day. Reviews are always appreciated because I love reading what you have to say about this story, and they make me very happy. Have a good day!