A/N: Ohmyvegetables, all of your reviews and praise are making me smile. I think I'm going to think of either writing an epilogue or just really making this story long. Sorry for the late update again. :D
And to Potter Lover 7: Thank you so much for the praise, I've never really thought of my story as actually something good. I always thought of it as something decent. You really made me smile! I hope I don't disappoint in this next chapter. ^-^
Ohmygoodness, my writing in this chapter really sucks. It's so narrative, BLAAAH. I hope you keep up with me, I'll try to reduce the narrativeness as much as I can. :D
Disclaimer: Jo owns it all! (:
"Rambling"
by SJRegina
Hermione always found herself rambling whenever in the presence of the one and only Fred Weasley, but that's just how Fred liked it.
Chapter 14: Trouble Is A Friend
Ron, Harry, and Hermione suspected that Malfoy was the Heir of Slytherin. But they had to make sure of this. Hermione thought of an excellent idea by brewing a Polyjuice potion. It would take a month to brew and the ingredients were quite difficult to find, but with the twins' help, everything would surely go quite easily.
Except of course Mrytle's moaning. She wasn't called Moaning Mrtyle for nothing.
Within the month, everything was going horribly wrong. The Quidditch game went wild. Harry, as usual, caught the snitch but just barely before Draco had. It was one of the dirtiest Quidditch games she had ever seen. Bewitched bludgers and everything.
But Harry broke a few bones just to catch that Snitch. And poor Professor Lockhart, he was only trying to help Harry. Perhaps it was just a little mistake! That's right. Surely he must have been so stressed that he cast the wrong spell on Harry's arms.
The next day, after Harry's bones were all regrown, he rushed to the Gryffindor common room, desperate on telling something to Hermione and Ron.
He passed over by Percy but Percy said they weren't in the common room. So he ran to the place where he they would be brewing the potion. In the girls' bathroom which was Moaning Mrtyle's humble abode.
He opened the door and heard their voices coming from a locked stall.
"It's me," he said, closing the door behind him. There was a clunk, a splash, and a gasp from within the stall and he saw Hermione's eye peering through the keyhole.
"Harry!" she said. "You gave us such a fright - come in how's your arm?"
"Fine," said Harry, squeezing into the stall. An old cauldron was perched on the toilet, and a crackling from under the rim told Harry they had lit a fire beneath it. Conjuring up portable, waterproof fires was a speciality of Hermione's.
"We'd've come to meet you, but we decided to get started on the Polyjuice Potion," Ron explained as Harry, with difficulty, locked the stall again. "We've decided this is the safest place to hide it."
Harry opened his mouth to say something but Hermione already knew that he was going to talk about Colin.
"We already know - we heard Professor McGonagall telling Professor Flitwick this morning. That's why we decided we'd better get going -"
"The sooner we get a confession out of Malfoy, the better," snarled Ron. "D'you know what I think? He was in such a foul temper after the Quidditch match, he took it out on Colin."
"There's something else," said Harry, watching Hermione tearing bundles of knotgrass and throwing them into the potion. "Dobby came to visit me in the middle of the night."
Ron and Hermione looked up, amazed. Harry told them everything Dobby had told him - or hadn't told him. Hermione and Ron listened with their mouths open.
"The Chamber of Secrets has been opened before?" Hermione said.
"This settles it," said Ron in a triumphant voice. "Lucius Malfoy must've opened the Chamber when he was at school here and now he's told dear old Draco how to do it. It's obvious. Wish Dobby'd told you what kind of monster's in there, though. I want to know how come nobody's noticed it sneaking around the school."
"Maybe it can make itself invisible," said Hermione, prodding leeches to the bottom of the cauldron. "Or maybe it can disguise itself - pretend to be a suit of armor or something - I've read about Chameleon Ghouls -"
"You read too much, Hermione," said Ron, pouring dead lacewings on top of the leeches. He crumpled up the empty lacewing bag and looked at Harry.
"So Dobby stopped us from getting on the train and broke your arm." He shook his head. "You know what, Harry? If he doesn't stop trying to save your life he's going to kill you."
Hermione threw him a glare at that.
~.~
The news that Colin Creevey had been attacked and was now lying as though dead in the hospital wing had spread through the entire school by Monday morning. The air was suddenly thick with rumor and suspicion.
The first years were now moving around the castle in tight-knit groups, as though scared they would be attacked if they ventured forth alone.
Ginny Weasley, who sat next to Colin Creevey in Charms, was distraught, but Hermione felt that Fred and George were going the wrong way about cheering her up. They were taking turns covering themselves with fur or boils and jumping out at her from behind statues.
She loved them to death but sometimes they were just weird.
They only stopped when Percy, apoplectic with rage, told them he was going to write to Mrs. Weasley and tell her Ginny was having nightmares.
Meanwhile, hidden from the teachers, a roaring trade in talismans, amulets, and other protective devices was sweeping the school.
Neville Longbottom bought a large, evil-smelling green onion, a pointed purple crystal, and a rotting newt tail before the other Gryffindor boys pointed out that he was in no danger; he was a pureblood, and therefore unlikely to be attacked.
"They went for Filch first," Neville said, his round face fearful. "And everyone knows I'm almost a Squib."
In the second week of December Professor McGonagall came around as usual, collecting names of those who would be staying at school for Christmas. Harry, Ron, the twins, Ginny, and Hermione signed her list; they had heard that Malfoy was staying, which struck them as very suspicious.
The holidays would be the perfect time to use the Polyjuice Potion and try to worm a confession out of him. Unfortunately, the potion was only half finished. They still needed the bicorn horn and the boomslang skin, and the only place they were going to get them was from Snape's private stores.
They were in the girls' bathroom again. Harry, Ron, and the twins were playing Exploding Snap in pairs while Hermione stirred the potion. She really needed that bicorn horn and boomslang skin.
"Boys." All four of them looked at Hermione from their game. "I really need that bicorn horn and boomslang skin." She looked at them nervously.
They all just stared at her for a moment before Ron piped up, "I'm not getting it. I'd rather face Slytherin's legendary monster than be caught by Snape."
"Me too." Harry patted Ron on the back and gave Hermione an apologetic smile.
"Honestly people, you call yourself Gryffindors." Fred sing-songed and shook his head in disbelief.
"Don't worry Hermione! We'll get it for you." George said and went to Hermione and slung his arm over her shoulder. "Right Gred?"
"Right Forge!" Fred walked over Hermione's other side and slung another arm on her shoulder.
Hermione giggled and squeezed his two best mate's arms. "Thanks guys."
Hermione may have been wrong, but she thought he saw Fred smile at her in a manner that was defiantly more than friendly. But she just shrugged it off and continued brewing the potion.
~.~
Fred and George came back that afternoon carrying the two ingredients she needed. Her jaw dropped in awe as she saw the two ingredients on Fred and George's hands.
"How did you get those so easily?" She stared at the items in awe.
"Trust us." Fred said.
"You don't want to know." They both said in sync.
Hermione took the items from their hands and threw the new ingredients into the cauldron and began to stir feverishly.
"It'll be ready in two weeks," she said happily. She was grateful for what the twins have done.
She left the cauldron for a bit and hugged George and kissed him on the cheeks. "Thank you George."
She then went to Fred and hugged him and kissed him on the cheeks as well. "Thank you Fred." Hermione smiled at him in glee and returned to the cauldron to stir it feverishly.
George sniggered as he saw his twin brother blush a bright crimson red as he brought his hand up slowly and touched the place where Hermione had just kissed him.
He closed his eyes at the feeling of Hermione's lips on his skin and blushed even more brighter. It was broken when George nudged his elbow playfully.
"Oi not-as-good-looking-as-me twin of mine, stop daydreaming of Hermione. You're getting droool all over the floor." George sniggered.
Fred rolled his eyes and slapped his twin playfully on the shoulders which George just pretended that it hurt dramatically. Fred laughed at him. "Whatever Georgie. And I'M the good-looking one."
~.~
Turns out, a dueling club had been started and Harry, Ron, and Hermione all signed up. Although Ron found it quite absurd that a monster could duel, it would be quite useful.
After the duelling lesson they had, things had hit rock bottom ever since. Especially for Harry. He actually spoke in Parsletongue, the language of the snakes. Since only descendants of Slytherin were known to have this ability, every student in Hogwarts suspected that it was possible that Harry was the Heir of Slytherin.
She found this so absurd. Harry was not related to the Slytherins how so ever. But given that his father was a pure-blood and the Slytherins' were strictly pure-blood bred, they might be distantly related but Hermione shrugged it off. This should not be something she would worry about.
Another attack happened not a few days later. It was a double-attack this time, to Justin Fletchey and Nearly Headless Nick. Although Hermione thought it was weird that a ghost be petrified.
Fred and George, however, found all this very funny. They went out of their way to march ahead of Harry down the corridors, shouting,
"Make way for the Heir of Slytherin, seriously evil wizard coming through..."
Percy was deeply disapproving of this behavior.
"It is not a laughing matter," he said coldly.
"Oh, get out of the way, Percy," said Fred. "Harry's in a hurry."
"Yeah, he's off to the Chamber of Secrets for a cup of tea with his fanged servant," said George, chortling.
Ginny didn't find it amusing either.
"Oh, don't," she wailed every time Fred asked Harry loudly who he was planning to attack next, or when George pretended to ward Harry off with a large clove of garlic when they met.
Harry didn't mind; it made him feel better that Fred and George, at least, thought the idea of his being Slytherin's heir was quite ludicrous.
But their antics seemed to be aggravating Draco Malfoy, who looked increasingly sour each time he saw them at it.
"It's because he's bursting to say it's really him," said Ron knowingly.
"You know how he hates anyone beating him at anything, and you're getting all the credit for his dirty work."
"Not for long," said Hermione in a satisfied tone. "The Polyjuice Potion's nearly ready. We'll be getting the truth out of him any day now."
At last the term ended, and a silence deep as the snow on the grounds descended on the castle. Harry found it peaceful, rather than gloomy, and enjoyed the fact that he, Hermione, and the Weasleys had the run of Gryffindor Tower, which meant they could play Exploding Snap loudly without bothering anyone, and practice dueling in private.
Fred, George, and Ginny had chosen to stay at school rather than visit Bill in Egypt with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.
Percy, who disapproved of what he termed their childish behavior,didn't spend much time in the Gryffindor common room. He had already told them pompously that he was only staying over Christmas because it was his duty as a prefect to support the teachers during this troubled time.
Christmas morning dawned, cold and white. Harry and Ron, the only ones left in their dormitory, were woken very early by Hermione, who burst in, fully dressed and carrying presents for them both.
"Wake up," she said loudly, pulling back the curtains at the window.
"Hermione - you're not supposed to be in here -" said Ron, shielding his eyes against the light.
"Merry Christmas to you, too," said Hermione, throwing him his present. "I've been up for nearly an hour, adding more lacewings to the potion. It's ready."
Harry sat up, suddenly wide awake.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive," said Hermione. "We're going to do it tonight."
A/N: I hope you liked it! Don't forget to review and vote on the poll at my profile. :D You can do both of that in just a few seconds. Thank you everyone for supporting my story, only a couple more chapters for CoS are coming up. ;) If I'm contented with Chapter 15, I might update earlier. :D