AN: Alright, I said I would update today, and I did. Just disregard the fact that it's really small. Sorry. The next one will be a lot longer, and it should be up Friday or Saturday. I managed to hit 500 followers, and now I have 505, so thanks to all of you. Thanks to my lovely people who favorited, all 287 of you. Extra special thanks to reviewers Narcissa-Weasly, B00kw0rm92, Kairan1979, mwinter1, serenityselena, SSGRet, poseiden'sdaughter, SomeGuyFawkes, thunder18, MariusDarkwolf, A Lady of Time, XxxImNotOkayxxX, phoebe turner, Yana5, serialkeller, Lightningblad49, and red-jacobson. You guys all keep me writing. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise.
"So, what are we doing tonight?" Angelina asked conversationally as they walked.
"Shh! Keep your voice down!" Fred whispered.
"We're going to see Moaning Myrtle," Lee told her.
"Lee!" The twins groaned.
"You're not looking for the Chamber of Secrets," Alicia said firmly.
"Of course not. We're just gonna ask her a few questions, that's all," Fred assured her.
"Uh huh," Alicia muttered. "And you couldn't do this in broad daylight because?"
"Actually, we wanted to find out if Myrtle knew where the Chamber was," Lee said.
"Lee!" The twins moaned.
"Are you three mad?" Angelina exclaimed. "If Slytherin's monster killed Myrtle, what makes you think that it won't kill you too?"
"If it makes you feel any better-"
"We solemnly swear we won't go looking-"
"-for the Chamber tonight."
"You shouldn't go looking for the Chamber any night! What if you die?" Alicia begged.
"We won't. Now come on-"
"Myrtle's a bit sensitive, and Lee here-"
"-isn't exactly known for his tact."
"I'm not sure if we'll be much help," Angelina said apologetically. "She can be really mean."
"Who are you talking about?" A high-pitched voice whined. "Me? Miserable, moaning, moping Myrtle?"
"No!" All five voices said at once, frantically searching for an explanation.
"We're talking about another girl we know," Alicia lied.
"Who?" Myrtle questioned suspiciously.
"Uh, Olive!" Lee blurted, pulling the name out of thin air.
"Ohhhh! I hate girls named Olive. They're all so horrible," She burst out.
"Yeah, they're the worst," Lee agreed, bewildered. "They're so ugly, but then they get all popular and everyone likes them. And they always make fun of the good people, the smart people."
Myrtle nodded happily, ghost eyes bright.
"Olive is just a stupid name in general. Who names their kid after a food?"
Myrtle cackled gleefully and flew over them. "I like you. What's your name?"
"Lee Jordan," Lee replied cautiously. "Hey Myrtle, can I ask you a question? It's kind of personal."
She nodded.
"Well, um, how exactly did you die?"
"Oooh, it was delicious!" She giggled. "I was in the bathroom, crying because Olive Hornby had been making fun of me. I was in a stall when I heard someone talking. It was a boy in the girl's bathroom, so I opened the door to tell him off, but all I could see was a pair of glowing yellow eyes. And then I died," She sniffled.
"Wait, so it didn't bite you or anything? It just looked at you?" Angelina clarified.
"You heard me," The ghost said waspishly.
"Hey Myrtle, aren't you usually in your toilet right about now?" Fred asked.
"Oh, I see. You want me to leave. Myrtle's so annoying and pathetic. We hope she dies!" Myrtle wailed.
"Aren't you already dead?" George asked.
Myrtle sobbed and flew away.
"Who has tact now?" Lee challenged.
"Where did that come from, anyway?" Alicia asked.
"Dunno. Just told her what she wanted to hear," he shrugged.
"At least now you have a girl that likes you," Fred taunted.
"Hey!" Lee shouted.
"Who's there?" An old voice called out.
"It's Filch!" Alicia gasped.
"Quick, in here!" George pulled aside a tapestry to reveal a small alcove. The five teenagers ducked in and Lee swung the tapestry back into place.
"What can you smell, Mrs. Norris?" Filch whispered.
The old cat pawed at the tapestry. Fred dug around in his pocket. The cat meowed some more.
"What is it, dearie?" Filch asked.
Fred slid a cat treat down under the tapestry. Mrs. Norris pounced on the treat and gobbled it up.
"Agh! You old cat. You've got no idea how long that thing's been down there," He said affectionately.
The kids held their breath as the old caretaker slowly meandered away.
"How did you do that?" Alicia asked, in awe.
"I always keep one in my pocket during our adventures, just in case," Fred said.
Angelina sighed in relief and shifted, bumping a brick. The sound of stone moving echoed throughout the halls, making all five jump in surprise.
The alcove had expanded and a tunnel lead away from it.
"Where does that go?" Alicia asked.
The twins shrugged. "Never seen it before. Let's explore."
"Are you insane?" What if something really dangerous is down there?" Angelina hissed.
"What, like Slytherin's monster?" Lee joked.
"That's not funny!" She snapped. "Hey, where are you two going?"
The twins had their wands out to light the way. "We're going to check it out, of course."
"Of course," Angelina repeated sarcastically, before following.
"What if there are rats down there?" Alicia said fearfully.
"Are you a Gryffindor or not?" The twins demanded.
"Well, yeah, but…"Alicia trailed off. The whole passageway looked like it was ready to collapse. Like something out of a mystery novel, she marveled. None of the tunnel seemed to have been touched in centuries.
"Is that a bat?" Lee said curiously.
"I think it's dead," Angelina said. "It's starting to turn green."
"Eeew!" Alicia squealed. The sound bounced off the walls.
"Do you think anyone knows about this?" Lee wondered.
The twins traded looks. "If we didn't know about it, chances are no one does."
"We've got to figure out how to add this to the map," George muttered to Fred.
"What map?" Alicia said, puzzled.
"What?" Fred parroted as they turned a corner, a large swath of cobwebs in their way. No one was willing to venture through them.
"Alright," George sighed.
"We'll take one for the team," Fred agreed.
The twins moved to push through them, but turned and shoved Lee instead.
Lee let out a muffled scream followed by a loud "Ooph!"
"Are you okay?" Angelina called worriedly.
"Yeah. I just got pushed through a ton of spider webs and into a wall, but I'm just fine," He said angrily.
"Good job Lee!" The twins chorused.
"Wait a second," he murmured. "What's this?" The other four moved closer.
"It looks like you can just put your eye up to it and see inside," He whispered to them.
"What do you see?" Angelina bounced excitedly.
"Well, it's kind of hard to tell. Whatever it is, it's kind of green, but not really…" He froze.
"What's wrong?" Alicia asked urgently.
"Um, well," He gulped. "I think I found Slytherin's monster."
"No way!" The twins shouted, both trying to look at it.
"Hey! Quit pushing me!"
"I should get to see it first, I'm older!"
"Oh yeah? Well I'm better looking!"
"What is it?" Alicia asked Lee.
He cleared his throat. "Well, I think it's a 70 feet long snake, but I can't be sure, because I couldn't really see the end of it."
"70 feet?" Angelina gasped.
"Or more," Lee squeaked. "I think we found the Chamber of Secrets."
"But not the actual entrance," Alicia pondered. "It's got to be around here somewhere."
"Let's go looking!" The twins piped up, their previous banter forgotten.
"No!" The others yelled in unison.
The twins wore identical pouts. "Why not?"
"Because that thing could kill us!" Angelina shrieked.
"Aww, come on!" The two whined.
"No! That snake killed Myrtle with one look. We're all just gonna go back to the Common Room and sleep for the rest of the night. You two will not be going to look for the Chamber again, because you will die if you do!"
"But what about Hagrid?" The two moaned.
"He'll be fine. Now let's go!" Alicia snapped.
The whole walk back to the Common Room, the twins wouldn't stop talking about the Chamber.
"Slytherin was pretty stupid to put the tunnel in such an obvious place."
"He was pretty stupid to just put a peephole there. If he can speak Parseltongue, why was he so scared of really going in there?"
"It's almost like he wanted the Chamber to be found. But why?"
"Guess Hagrid will never get his name cleared now."
"Poor guy."
If Angelina had ever thought the twins annoying before, it was nothing compared to now.
"So, you wanted to see us?" Percy asked.
"Yes, yes, of course. Come on in." Charity Burbage had never expected to get very far in life. The people in power looked down upon her fascination with Muggles, and the magical world wasn't all that large to begin with. She could've moved to America or Australia, where everyone was a bit more tolerant of each other, but England was her home.
She had been a Gryffindor in school, but many of her classmates thought she should've been put in Hufflepuff. She was timid and shy, and she didn't like to put herself out there, but she was brae when she needed to be. She never hesitated to stand up for those being bullied.
But now she had a big responsibility. She was Head of Gryffindor. She couldn't look weak, or it would reflect badly on Gryffindor. The Slytherins seemed to be just waiting for one false move on her part that they could exploit. She wouldn't give them that chance. She wouldn't let Gryffindor down.
"I just wanted to ask you about your house, get familiar with it," She explained to Percy Weasley and Oliver Wood.
The two boys nodded. Percy seemed entirely professional, but Oliver glanced around her office curiously. She suddenly felt self-conscious of all the muggle trinkets she had lying around.
"What do you want to know?" Percy asked.
"Oh, um, well, I guess how would you describe your house?"
Oliver paused. "I think we're starting to get a little bit closer, which is good. Before, we'd always defend each other, but we didn't really know anything about anyone except for our friends."
"Okay, good. Um, is there anything you think Gryffindor needs to work on?"
Percy took a moment to think. "We could all probably be a lot nicer and just try to meet more people. It's like we don't even know people in our own house."
"Right," Charity scribbled down a few notes. "Are there any students in particular I should focus on?"
Oliver snorted. "Well definitely the Weasley twins. Probably Neville Longbottom, too. He's got some serious self-esteem issues."
"Ginny," Percy hesitated. "She's been having a rough time making friends, and she seems a little bitter."
"Is that all?"
"Yeah, I think so," Percy said.
"Alright. One last question. A lot of you seem very cautious and suspicious. Is there anything I can do to gain your trust?"
Oliver and Percy exchanged glances.
"McGonagall's been Head for forever," Oliver said finally. "Everyone knew her. We just kind of got used to her and took it for granted that she was there. I'm not saying you'll never be trusted, just that it will take you a while."
"Mostly, just be yourself," Percy added. "We can tell when you're faking. If you just act natural, then we'll like you more."
"I'm just so nervous," She confessed. "I didn't know what to do. It's like, I don't know most of these kids. I could tell they were all disappointed when they found out I was head."
"If you want, we could put in a good word for you," Percy offered.
"No. I have to do this myself," She said, determined. "But thank you."
"So how exactly was Hagrid framed?" Oliver asked outside Burbage's office.
"I don't know. Hermione and I looked everywhere in the library, but we couldn't find anything. Harry and Ron went down to ask him, but he wouldn't say anything."
"We could always give him some firewhiskey and see what he says," Oliver suggested.
"I'd rather do this in a way that wouldn't make me question my moral compass," Percy replied dryly. "No, we need to get it from a real witness, someone who was there, but not part of it."
"But Dumbledore's gone," Oliver groaned.
"But who else here has been teaching almost as long as Dumbledore?" Percy asked.
The two reached the same conclusion at the same time. "Flitwick."