Chapter 21 - Malfoy? The Heir of Slytherin?
The Prophecy weighed on my mind daily, to say it was distressing was short of how screwed up I felt. It felt like history was going to repeat itself. A Black betray a Potter. Okay, so I'm not a Black but my Grandmother was and I'm as direct a descendant as Malfoy. God my life sucked. The other three had noticed a difference in me and they asked but I told them nothing was wrong and drop it, I said it pretty forcefully so they did leave it. At least for now, I think. But at least as long as nobody knew anything apart from Dumbledore then it was okay. I had decided to not tell anyone from the family, not even Uncle Moony but I had started writing again to him and to mum and dad to apologise for being a stupid bitch, although, I did blame Ron for crashing into a tree. I hadn't got a reply yet. This Chamber of Secrets thing was big news. No one seemed to know anything about it, not even Hermione! I even lowered myself to asking Addy if he knew anything about it, of course he didn't, stupid Slytherin. A few days later in our Transfiguration with McGonagall we got the answer's we wanted.
"Could I have your attention, please? Right. Now, today, we will be transforming animals into water goblets. Like so. One, two, three, Vera verto." Professor McGonagall ordered and her golden water goblet turned into a beautiful blue bird. "Now it's your turn. Well, who would like to go first? Ah! Miss Hyde. Have a go." I looked at Dion, then Scabbers and back to McGonagall. I'd rather not change my beautiful owl.
"Err... would you mind if I changed the rat? Dion is getting a bit old, I'm worried it may hurt him." I told a little white lie that Ron and Harry scoffed at so I kicked them both under the table. McGonagall sighed then nodded so I pulled Scabbers in front of me and pointed my wand at him. I bobbed my wand three times. "Vera verto." Scabbers the scrubby rat turned into a cup, quite like McGonagall's accepted it was a bit dimmer.
"Well done, Miss Hyde. 10 points to Gryffindor." McGonagall said and I beamed at her happily. Hermione had then shot up. "Yes, Miss Granger?"
"Professor, I was wondering if you could tell us about...the Chamber of Secrets?" Hermione asked and every turned to watch our Transfiguration Professor intently.
"Well, very well. Well, you all know, of course, that Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago by the four greatest witches and wizards of the age: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. Now, three of the founders coexisted quite harmoniously. One did not." Professor McGonagall said with a stern and worried face.
"Three guesses who." I sneered to Harry and Ron. The sniggered, glaring at the Slytherin's with me.
"Salazar Slytherin wished to be more selective about the students admitted to Hogwarts. He believed magical learning should be kept within all-magic families. In other words, 'pure-bloods.'" I glanced at Malfoy to find him looking at me. He looked bemused or something. I glared at him again.
"Unable to sway the others, he decided to leave the school. Now, according to legend, Slytherin had built a hidden chamber in this castle, known as the Chamber of Secrets. Though, shortly before departing, he sealed it until that time when his own true heir returned to the school. The heir alone would be able to open the Chamber and unleash the horror within, and by so doing purge the school of all those who, in Slytherin's view, were unworthy to study magic." McGonagall said in a stiff and angered tone.
"Muggle-borns." said Hermione cringing.
"Well, naturally, the school had been searched many times. No such chamber has been found." McGonagall turned and flourished her wand, the spell appearing on the board. She turned only to find Hermione's hand in the air once again.
"Professor? What exactly does legend tell us lies within the Chamber?" I asked.
"Well, the Chamber is said to home to something that only the Heir of Slytherin can control. It is said to be the home of a monster." The rest of the lesson was unusually quiet, resulting in almost everyone successfully turning their pets into water goblets. We left Transfiguration confused and very sombre.
"D'you think it's true? D'you think there really is a Chamber of Secrets?" said Ron as we walked through the courtyard, into the busy crowds.
"Yes. Couldn't you tell? McGonagall's worried. All the teachers' are." sighed Hermione, thinking hard.
"Well, if there really is a Chamber of Secrets, and it really has been opened, then that means-" Ron continued while I stayed silent.
"The Heir of Slytherin has returned to Hogwarts. The question is, who is it?" Harry finished.
"Let's think. Who do we know who thinks all Muggle-borns are scum?" Ron said sarcastically as Malfoy pushed through us and swaggered off.
"You don't mean Malfoy." I whispered. I didn't want to believe that. If Malfoy was an heir of Slytherin, it would not be from the Malfoy side of his but from his mother's. The Black side. My side. Which would make me and heir of Slytherin, too. It would explain Sirius but I just couldn't think of me being related to him.
"Of course. You heard him! 'You'll be next Mudbloods,'" pointed out Ron
"I heard him." Hermione said regretfully "But Malfoy, the Heir of Slytherin?"
"Well, maybe Ron's right, Hermione. I mean, look at his family. The whole lot of them have been in Slytherin for centuries." Harry argued.
"Crabbe and Goyle must know." Ron said, his face lighting up "Maybe we could trick them into telling."
"Even they aren't that thick." I ground out angrily.
"But there might be another way." said Hermione excitedly "Mind you, it would be difficult. Not to mention, we would be breaking about fifty school rules. And, it'll be dangerous. Very dangerous." She dragged us off to the library were we combed through the potions section. Thinking about what she said I didn't want to believe she was thinking about the making the Polyjuice Potion. Of course she was.
"Hermione are you mad!" I whispered "That could potentially be one of the most dangerous things we have ever done!" She just smiled and carried on looking. I was seriously getting worried about Hermione. She was getting way to lax about this 'breaking the rules' thing. Turns out we had to ask a teacher for signed permission as it was in the Restricted Section. The only teacher thick enough would be Lockhart so we got his signature and retrieved the book from the library. We took the book: Moste Potent Potions and ran to Gryffindor Tower.
"Here it is, 'The Polyjuice Potion. Properly brewed, the Polyjuice Potion allows the drinker to transform himself temporarily into the physical form of another.'" recited Hermione
"Do you mean, if Harry and I drink that stuff, we'll turn into Crabbe and Goyle?" Ron asked.
"Yes." I replied dryly.
"Wicked! Malfoy'll tell us anything." Harry exclaimed.
"Exactly. But it's tricky. I've never seen a more complicated potion." Hermione said still pouring over the book.
"Well, how long will it take to make?" Harry asked.
"A month." I sighed.
"A month? But, Hermione, if Malfoy is the Heir of Slytherin, he could attack half the Muggle-borns in the school by then." Ron said.
"I know. But it's the only plan we've got." Hermione spat back.
"It would be a lot less hassle if we just knocked Malfoy off his broom tomorrow." I muttered to Harry. Harry agreed and we walked back to the common room discussing it. "How would we get the ingredients anyway?" I asked her.
"Professor Snape will have them in his stores." Hermione replied lightly.
"And what are you going to do?" I persisted. "Walk up to Snape and say, 'Excuse me, Sir, we believe your godson has let loose a creature to kill all the muggleborns and we want to impersonate four of his friends to question him about it in about a month.' Get real, Hermione, I think all that reading has made your brain fuzzy, we'll have detention quicker than you can say 'The Hollyhead Harpies.'" I glared at the ground in front of us.
"I think that's the longest speech I've ever heard you make." Ron stated.
"Of course not." Hermione snapped at me before Malfoy actually appeared and barged through us.
"Watch out mudblood." Malfoy sneered looking at the four of us.
"Oi! Malfoy!" I called to him. He turned back and smirked at me. "I want to ask you something."
"Ash!" Hermione squeaked as Malfoy swaggered forward to stand in front of me.
"You want to know if I'm him. Well, if I was you know what it'd make you..." Malfoy sneered at me and my angered raged like fire. I pulled back my fist and landed it into his face with as much force as I had. He staggered backwards as blood spluttered out of his broken nose. He glared at me and started to say something until I grabbed his collar and pushed him against the wall.
"You do not want to speak of that." I growled in a low and threatening voice. "You do not want to know what will happen to you. You won't speak of it to anyone. Is it crystal clear to you, Draconis Abraxas Malfoy? Get it? Got it? Good!" I threw him to the floor and glared at him again before I walked off quickly with the other three tailing me.
"What was that about?" Harry asked immediately.
"Drop it." I growled. "It does not matter anymore, we have to figure out if Malfoy is the heir of Slytherin. You two can be those oafs of his; Crabbe and Goyle, you can be the troll bitch, Milicent Bulstrode, Hermione. I'll be that ugly pug, Pansy Parkinson. I'll get the ingredients tonight with your cloak, Harry. We have to do this, before it's too late." I finished my slightly desperate tirade. The other three nodded looking worried at me. "I'll see you three later, I'm going to practice some Quidditch." I walked off before they could say anything, I grabbed my broom and went to the pitch to enjoy my only escape from nowadays. Flying. I will always love flying. I couldn't wait for the Slytherin match tomorrow, I hoped to actually knock Malfoy off his high horse, or broom, and plunge to the floor.