A/N: Sorry for the Long Pause, I needed to obtain the book and I had a couple trips to go on, not my fault! Anyway, here it is. I don't own anything (like you haven't read that a hundred times!)
Chapter 5 Message, Message on the Wall
Halloween was finally rolling around. Lelouch was still skipping classes and doing extra studying. Teachers always missed him when trying to give out detentions for skipping class since he never went… ever. Luckily, he attended a select few classes that were actually interesting, namely Potions, Charms, Transfigurations, and Astronomy. Without Herbology, Defense against the Dark Arts, and History of Magic, he was able to begin working on Animagi transformations and further his studies.
"No classes today, huh?" Suzaku asked.
"Nope, so we'll work on the You-Know-What." Lelouch replied.
The four walked around the school to the seventh floor. They went into one of the rooms. There they had the things they needed for the potion. Lelouch pulled out the book.
"At three weeks, add dittany to the brew and stir clockwise for 5 minutes. Wait until the next full moon, and it will be ready." Lelouch said, finishing the brew.
"The next full moon is on Halloween, tomorrow." Suzaku said.
"Okay, then we'll have to meet here discretely. Don't let the Golden Trio follow. Understand?" Lelouch said.
"We understand." Suzaku replied with Nunally nodding in agreement.
Suzaku and Lelouch were spying on Harry. One of the ghosts floated over to him. The two listened in on their conversation.
"Well, this Halloween will be my five hundredth deathday."
"Oh… right."
"I'm holding a party down in one of the roomier dungeons. Friends will be coming from all over the country. It would be such an honor if you would attend."
Lelouch and Suzaku shared a look of hope.
"I'll come." Harry said.
Lelouch turned to Suzaku.
"Well, that was easier than I thought." Lelouch said.
The two walked up to the common room. Nunally and C2 were doing Transfigurations homework.
"Good news guys. The trio is going to a party elsewhere. The plan is to eat quickly and come back here to finish the brew. Then, we'll each take a swig to determine what our Animal will be. We'll practice at later times." Lelouch mapped out.
The others nodded and continued homework. Lelouch went back to reading The Animagi for the Beginner Volume 1.
Halloween was a day free from school; nevertheless, Lelouch had to avoid his teachers from giving out detentions. One detention could prevent them from drinking the brew. Lelouch sat in his room reading all the books he could find, mainly on Transfiguration. Hours passed with only quick trips to eat by heading to the kitchen. The time finally came and they headed down to dinner. The group sat closest to the doors. They ate quickly the delicious food and left. The saw the Golden trio pass by, going down to the dungeons. Lelouch and the others headed up to the tower. They said the password to the Fat Lady, who was there only a minute to go party with some friends. They made their way inside. The room was eerily quiet, but they didn't care since they knew everyone else would be in the Great Hall. Suzaku and Lelouch brought down the cauldron.
"It's now the full moon." Suzaku said. "Time to drink"
Everyone took a cup and filled it with the deep brown brew.
"On the count of three, drink. One, two, three." Lelouch said, chugging the potion down. It tasted like cauliflower, mint, and fur combined. The rest drank theirs.
"Okay, now for the next step, everyone Transmagi Animagus." He spoke.
"Transmagi Animagus." The others repeated. Hundreds of different animals, in full color, flew out of their wands, each making its own noise and disappearing. After a minute, a Finnish spitz shot out of Suzaku's wand. No others came out. The spitz was a brown, medium-sized, friendly dog. Suzaku played around a bit with the dog. Next, C2's animal appeared, a blue throated hummingbird. Nunally's suddenly appeared, a brown and white kangaroo rat.
"What's mine, big brother?" Nunally asked.
"Your animal is a brown and white kangaroo rat. Small, yet perfect for you." Lelouch replied.
"Thank you big brother!" She replied.
Lelouch's animal finally appeared. It was a simple black cat. Lelouch was a little stunned.
"A cat. Strange. Now, remember your animals well, as they are the only ones you can Transfigure into." Lelouch explained. "Let's head back down to the festivities. Our Animagus base will be located at the end of a passage near the Whomping Willow. I'll tell you guys when we meet, but it'll probably be at night, between the half moons."
The others nodded and left to the Great Hall. The traveled down a couple of corridors. The group then saw the golden trio gaping at a message on the wall. They went over to it.
"The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir, beware." Suzaku read.
"That sounds frightening." Nunally said.
"What's that thing, hanging underneath?" Ron said terrified. It was Mrs. Norris, Filch's cat. "Let's leave."
"Shouldn't we try and help." Harry began.
"No, we don't want to be found here." Ron said, while Lelouch was looking it over carefully.
A ton of students started walking towards them, talking very loudly. Everyone stopped as they saw the seven kids surrounding the message.
"Enemies of the Heir, beware! You'll be next, Mudbloods!" Draco Malfoy yelled.
"What's going on?" Filch yelled as he came through the mob of students.
"My cat! My cat! What have you done to Mrs. Norris?" He shrieked. He looked toward Harry. "You killed my cat! I'll kill you." He yelled again.
"Argus!" Dumbledore cried.
A plethora of teachers had appeared upon the scene. Dumbledore brought down Mrs. Norris.
"Argus, come with me. You seven as well." He said.
Lockhart volunteered, "My office is closest, if you wish."
"Thank you." Dumbledore accepted. The people allowed them all to walk through to the DADA room. Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape examined the cat. Lelouch stood from afar analyzing the cat as well. Lockhart droned on and on about his various achievements. Lelouch knew he was a fake, but said nothing until.
"She's been Petrified. The signs are all there. A frozen position, eyes open, and she's still alive." Lelouch pronounced.
"Still alive?" Filch choked. "Why is she all stiff and frozen?"
"As I just said, she's been Petrified, but I have no clue yet as to why." Lelouch finished.
"Ten points to Gryffindor for Lelouch's analysis." Dumbledore said.
"It was him. He did it." Filch yelled, pointing to Harry.
"This is advanced Dark Magic; no 2nd year student could have done this." Dumbledore explained.
"He did it all! He wrote the message; he knows I'm a Squib." Filch finished.
"I never touched Mrs. Norris! And I don't even know what a Squib is." Harry protested.
Lelouch thought to look up what a Squib was. One of the few things left in Lelouch's research on the Wizarding World.
"Rubbish, he was my Kwikspell letter!" snarled Filch.
"If I might speak, Headmaster," Snape began. "Potter and his friends may have simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time, but we do have a set of suspicious circumstances here. Why were they in the upstairs corridor at all? Why weren't they at the Halloween Feast?"
"We went to Nearly Headless Nick's Deathday Party." Harry, Ron, and Hermione explained.
"And you four." Snape asked.
"We were working on homework in our common room; you can ask the Fat Lady. We finished and were coming down to eat again." Lelouch explained, while Nunally shifted a little.
"But why choose that corridor, Potter?" Snape asked.
"Because – because – because we were tired and wanted to go to bed," he said.
"Without any supper?" Snape said, smiling with triumph. "I didn't think ghosts provided food fit for living people at their parties."
"We weren't hungry," Ron said as loud as his stomach rumbled.
"I say, Headmaster, that Potter is not being entirely truthful. Neither are these other Gryffindors." Snape started. "It might be good if they were denied some privileges until they are ready to tell us the whole story. I think Potter should be taken off the Quidditch team until he is ready to be honest."
"Really, Severus," said McGonagall, "I see no reason to take away any privileges. There is no evidence at all any of them has done any wrong."
"Innocent until proven guilty, Severus," Dumbledore said.
"My cat has been Petrified!" Argus yelled, "I want to see someone punished!"
"We will be able to cure her, Argus. Professor Sprout has grown some Mandrakes. As soon as they have fully matured, we will have a potion made to revive Mrs. Norris."
"I'll make it," Lockhart intruded," I must have done it a hundred times. I could whip up a Mandrake Restorative Draught in my sleep."
"Excuse me." Snape said, glaring. "I am the Potions master in this school."
"You may go." Dumbledore said to the students. The seven left quickly. Harry, Ron, and Hermione took a different route.
"Brother, you know it's not good to lie." Nunally said.
"Well, we kind of were doing homework. I had to say something to prevent us from getting in trouble." Lelouch explained. "We have to watch the three of them carefully. They aren't fully telling the truth. I know they couldn't have Petrified the cat, but they have something to do with the Chamber."
Suzaku nodded, "I can follow them pretty well. They usually don't check around them. This is now an even better time to begin practicing our Animagus forms."
Lelouch agreed, "Tomorrow afternoon, between Transfiguration and supper, meet by the Whomping Willow and we'll go in together."
A/N: Thanks for reading, please review.