I don't own Hellsing or Harry Potter, and I'm not making any money from this.

After the whole mess of searching for the Philosopher's Stone, Constance figured it was probably in her best interests to write home about what was happening. It wouldn't be surprising if Mihnea did the same thing. For as much as her mother said she didn't want to know about certain things, the girl was certain she didn't truly mean it. She and her dad would want to know and she could use their advice anyway. She wrote out a letter detailing every odd thing that had happened so far, then sent it home with Archimedes. Her parent's response came back the next day.

Be careful, Constance. It said. This warning sounds almost like a challenge. In this instance, your inquisitive nature could put you in harm's way. Do your research and try to figure out what this strange creature may be to better protect yourself, but do not go out looking for it. There is a difference between defending yourself and going out looking for a fight. You are alone in this. If something were to happen, there would be no way for any of us to get to you in time. By all means, if something attacks you, kill the damn thing. But when you cannot identify who or what your enemy is, it is best to avoid it if at all possible. Keep your gun with you and be prepared to use it if you must.

P.S. Mihnea has been given the same instructions, so there will be no convincing him to get involved in something you have no business getting into.

Constance folded up the message and returned it to the envelope. It was sensible advice. She didn't particularly appreciate the implication that she would drag her cousin into something dangerous, but her track record in the past probably worked against her. But the idea of researching... that was definitely doable.

When she brought it up to her friends, Hermione had already come up with a similar plan herself. Since the boys didn't like doing research – and weren't good at it to begin with – the task was assigned to them. The girls poured through every book in the library that looked like it could be useful. They couldn't find a single mention of this 'Chamber of Secrets' or any creatures that might be associated with it. It was incredibly frustrating. However, there was one other option they could use to get information. Going to a teacher and asking about it. Normally, Connie would think that doing such a thing would have a door shut in their face. But the entire student body had been frightened by the message written in blood, so if they were to ask while a large group was present, it would be more difficult for them to refuse to give an answer. That meant bringing the subject up in class.

Professor McGonagall was their head of house and they knew her best. She was a reasonable woman who had worked at Hogwarts for many years, so they figured she would be the most willing to share what she knew with them. Constance would have had no problem with asking the question herself, but Hermione offered to do it first.

"You're the quiet one. I always ask questions in class." she said. "They'd expect it from me."

It made sense, so Constance agreed to it. They all decided to put their plan into motion during the next Transfiguration class. The second years were primarily working with transforming animals into various objects. That day's lesson was centered around changing animals into water goblets. McGonagall gave a brief lecture on how it was done, then had Ron give a demonstration. His wand had been broken when he and Harry crashed the car, so he only managed to change his rat into a cup covered in fur and possessing a wiggling naked tail. It was the grossest looking thing she'd ever seen. The professor told him that it was time to replace his wand, then turned to walk back to her desk. That was their opening. Connie nudged Hermione in the side. The girl understood and put up her hand.

"Professor?" she said.

McGonagall turned around to address her. "Yes, Miss Granger?"

Hermione put her hand down. "I was wondering... if you could tell us about the Chamber of Secrets?"

As they suspected, every student in the room immediately straightened to pay attention. Everyone else wanted to know about it as well. McGonagall looked around the room, then took a breath.

"Very well." she said. "I suppose you deserve to know after what you've seen."

She began her tale by explaining how the school began - created over a thousand years ago by the witches and wizards whom their houses were named for. After a while, it became apparent that Salazar Slytherin had a different view from the others of how things should be run. Believing that only students from entirely magical families should be allowed to learn magic, he built a secret chamber somewhere in the castle that could only be opened by his true heir. When this 'heir of Slytherin' opened the chamber, whatever was locked inside would be released to cleanse the school of all who were 'unworthy' of being there.

Constance cleared her throat. "You mean muggle-borns?"

McGonagall gestured to her with her wand. "Precisely." she confirmed. "Now, you must understand that all of this lies in the realm of legend. The school has been searched for this chamber many times, and nothing has ever been found. We believe that the message you saw was a particularly malicious prank. There is no evidence to suggest that the Chamber of Secrets actually exists."

That's what she said, but she still looked nervous. It wasn't an overt expression, but you could see it in her eyes if you looked closely enough. She was telling them that to appease their curiosity. Hermione raised her hand again.

"Professor, what exactly does legend say lies within the chamber?"

Their head of house looked over at her carefully. "Legend has it that the chamber houses a creature that only the heir of Slytherin can control. It is said to be..." she hesitated for the briefest of moments. "The home of a monster."

"A monster?" Connie questioned when they finally got out of class. "Could she have been any less specific? There are thousands of things that could be considered monsters."

"At least we know something about it now." Harry commented. "The chamber is tied to Slytherin, and whatever is in there will go after the muggle-borns first."

That was disturbing – especially to Hermione. In their little group, she was the only one who was muggle-born. She would be one of this 'monster's' targets.

"Well, if the chamber has been opened, who do you suppose the heir is?"

"Oh, lets see." Ron said sarcastically. "Who around here is in Slytherin and hates muggle-borns?"

"You mean Malfoy." Hermione said, looking upset by the mere idea. She hated Draco almost as much as he hated her.

"You've heard him going on about it in the hallways." Ron went on. " 'All the mudbloods are next'. He has to be the heir."

It would make sense if he was, but Draco wasn't the only one it could be. Constance looked over at him.

"Just about every pure-blooded wizard in Slytherin hates muggle-borns as much as Malfoy." she told him. "He's just the most vocal about it. The heir could be any one of them."

It was an intimidating thought. With as many Slytherins as there were, they would have a time trying to figure out which one of them it was. After a moment's deliberation, they decided that their best option was to focus on Malfoy until they knew he wasn't the heir, or found information that pointed to someone else.

"Hermione, why are we hiding out in the library?"

The girl glanced over at Ron. "This is the best place for us to talk without being heard by someone." she told him. "I have an idea for figuring out whether or not Draco is the heir."

Both boys sat up at attention. "What is it?" Harry asked.

Hermione placed a book she'd found during her and Constance's foray into research on the table and opened it to a particular page. "There is something called the polyjuice potion." she explained. "It allows the drinker to change into the form of another for a certain length of time. We could use it to change into Slytherins and get into their dormitory. We'd be able to ask Draco himself if he's the one doing all of this."

"Bloody hell, that's brilliant!" Ron said. "How long will it take?"

"Well, it's going to be complicated." the girl admitted. "The potion itself is very complex and it takes a month to brew."

Harry stared at her, then leaned forward. "A month?" he asked. "Do you know how many muggle-borns could be killed in a month?"

"I know." she said. "But it's the best option we've got right now."

The boys looked at each other. It seemed that they were considering the idea. Finally, they came to some sort of silent agreement.

"Okay." Harry said. "But... why are we talking about this while Connie's not here? She's the best at potions. If we're going to make one to do this, shouldn't she be the one to brew it...?"

Hermione shook her head. "I'm perfectly capable of brewing this potion myself. Connie is in the Great Hall eating supper." she paused and pulled her lower lip between her teeth. "I think... it would be best if she didn't know about this."

Ron looked shocked. Like what she had said was beyond understanding. "What? Why?"

The girl sniffed. "Think about it, Ron. Her cousin is a Slytherin. They're very close and she tells him everything. I'm not saying that Bassarab would go around warning all the Slytherins about us, but he could tell Snape about it. Do you want professor Snape finding out that we're trying to break into his house's dormitory to interrogate one of his favorite students?"

"Oh." the boys said in unison. They apparently hadn't thought of that. Harry cleared his throat. "Do you really think she'd do that?" he asked. "For something like this, surely she would keep her mouth shut..."

"It's too dangerous." she insisted, then leaned forward, as if to impress upon them the seriousness of what she was saying. "Look, all I know is that Bassarab is incredibly smart and he has ways of figuring things out. Connie swears up and down that she didn't tell him anything about us going after the stone, but he showed up in the hospital wing right after we got there. And he knew everything. I'm pretty sure he's the one who told the teachers what we were doing. There was no way they would have known we were up there without one of us coming back to tell them. Now, either Constance is lying about how much she tells him, or he sneaks around so well that he can listen in on conversations without getting caught. If she has the slightest suspicion of what we're doing, Bassarab will find out about it. We can't tell her anything."

It was strange to think of leaving her out of something this important. Especially when she was the most talented at what they would have to do to make their plan work. But Hermione had a strong point. They couldn't risk a Slytherin finding about about what they were doing. Harry glanced down at the book laying open on the table.

"You're sure you can brew it right?"

Hermione looked like she thought the question was offensive. "Absolutely. I wouldn't suggest it if I didn't know I could do it."

Well, that pretty much settled it then. Hermione would brew the potion that would allow them to sneak into the heart of Slytherin territory to learn what they could about who had opened the chamber.