PART 2

Two years and a half have passed ...

Chapter 15

Minerva McGonagall made her way to the hospital wing as soon as she received the message. She rushed threw the dark corridors as fast as she could. Minerva was a very old woman, every day could be her last, yet she still found the energy to run. She slowed down right in front of the hospital wing. The door was closed. Minerva looked at it with fear. She was scared of what she would find behind that closed door.

It wasn't the first time Minerva visited the hospital wing in the middle of the night.

Minerva loved Hogwarts very much, and she couldn't bare the thought of someone so evil in it.

Sometimes Minerva wished she wasn't headmistress of the school. She had so many responsibilities, not that they bothered her much, but people expected a lot from her. They expected her to stop the attacks, to arrest the culprit. The attacks had begun a year and a half ago. Eighteen month of anxiety, fear and only one question: who?

The attacks reminded McGonagall of another time, when the chamber of secrets had been opened for the second time. But Dumbledore had been there, and even when he had been taken away Minerva had felt protected.

Of course Minerva had thought about closing the school. But just as she was about to do so, a new strength had come to her and she had found the courage to go on, in spite of the attacks.

Many disapproved of her decision. They wrote endless letters of complain that drove Minerva crazy. But there were others who supported Minerva and they gave her the energy to go on.

With shaking hands, McGonagall knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" a woman's voice called from behind the door.

"It's me, Minerva." McGonagall said softly.

There was the sound of a key being turned in a lock and then the door opened. Madam Pomfrey's pale face appeared.

"Come in." she said simply and turned back to one of the beds behind her.

McGonagall stepped into the hospital wing carefully. She didn't want to wake any of the students. There were so many injured students in the hospital wing that there was no bed left.

"Who is it this time?" Minerva asked.

"Janet Harris, from Ravenclaw."

Minerva's eyes filled with tears. She didn't like to see her students be hurt so much. They were innocent after all. Minerva closed her eyes. She could see herself telling Janet off because she wasn't paying attention in class.

"How is she?" McGonagall asked, trying to control her voice and her emotions.

"Not as bad as the others. She will recover pretty quickly, I think."

McGonagall took a deep breath, and looked at the young girl on the bed. She was asleep. Her face was as white as the sheets. Her injured arm was covered with bandages.

"It's strange, isn't it? It seems as if the monster doesn't want to kill them, only hurt them." Madam Pomfrey said.

"Yes, it is really odd." McGonagall whispered to herself.

She stroked the girl's hair fondly. Minerva didn't have any children and she had never married. But she felt like a mother to all the students in Hogwarts. It was horrible to think one of them had created a monster in the only goal to hurt.

And again the same question came. Who?

Minerva could almost hear Dumbledore's voice whispering in her ear.

"The question is not who. The question is how."

When Dumbledore had spoken these words it was the diary of Tom Riddle who had been the attacker.

But the diary had been destroyed, by Harry Potter himself.

Could it be that this new attacker used the chamber of secrets as well? There was only one way to find out.

McGonagall cleared her throat loudly.

"Poppy, I'm afraid I have to leave you. I have to write a letter to Mister Potter."

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A group of Slytherins were making their way to the Great Hall. They were in their fourth year. When they passed, people got quickly out of the way. Three girls from the group were chatting together. A small skinny boy was trying to keep up with their conversation.

"Frank, don't insist. There are things you guys can't understand." One of the girls said to the skinny boy.

Two other boys were leading the group. They were tall and dark haired. One of them looked extremely strong. He clenched his fist as if daring someone to defy him. It looked as if these two boys were the leaders of the group but everyone in Hogwarts knew better:

A girl, with vivid red hair, was walking in the middle of the group. She looked very confident and sure of herself. Her movement was graceful, and her footsteps echoed in the corridors because of her high heels. She was very pretty, and even if she was smaller than the other in height, she seemed much more mature then all of them put together.

Of course, everyone in Hogwarts had heard about her. Students whispered her name a lot when they spoke of the Slytherins. A lot of them didn't know her personally, yet no student in the school could help but admire her. She was said to be very powerful for a witch of her age: rumours said she had unusual powers. They said she was wise and compared her to the greatest wizards there existed.

Everyone knew she was the daughter of the famous Harry Potter, and it made people love her even more.

Yes, Alicia really knew how to manipulate people and make them like her.

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Elisabeth was eating calmly her breakfast when David and Ramona sat down next to her. She sighed. It was impossible to eat in peace when the twins were beside you.

"What do you want?" She snapped. She was not in the mood.

Elisabeth had been miserable for quite a while. She had been miserable for nearly two years in fact. She liked her friends, but she had to admit they weren't the best. Every single night, they disappeared and joined Alicia in the chamber of secrets. Elisabeth knew exactly what they did in there, and it made her shudder to think what they would invent next.

Alicia had been very disappointed when Elisabeth had refused to participate. But she had accepted her friend's choice.

"Jesus, be a bit nicer, will you?" David said helping himself to bread.

"I'm sorry." Elisabeth said quietly.

"Are you all right?" Ramona asked. She was David's twin. The two of them looked very alike, but they were as different as night and day. David could never sit still and was always on his way to do something exiting. Ramona on the contrary was a very timid girl, who liked to be alone from time to time. Elisabeth didn't blame her: she would want to lock herself in her bedroom alone as well if she had a twin like David.

"I'm fine." Elisabeth snapped. She wanted to get out of there.

She could barely look in her friends' eyes these days. She knew what they did, and it disgusted her how little it affected them. They smiled and laughed as much as they could, as if they had never attacked anyone in their whole life.

Elisabeth wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, but Alicia suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

"Good morning, Elisabeth." She said in her sweet voice.

A lot of people were looking in her direction. Alicia smiled politely at them.

"David. Leave me a free sit next to Elisabeth." Alicia ordered.

David did as he was told. He pushed a group of first years out of the way to make place. Alicia sat down at the table. She smelt of fresh vanilla, as if she had just stepped out of a hot bath. Elisabeth felt sick. How could her friend act like this after what she had just done?

"Hello, Ali." Elisabeth said shortly.

Alicia said nothing. She poured herself chocolate milk and carefully spread the butter on her toast before speaking.

"So, Elisabeth, she began softly, I hear you have been acting odd lately?"

"Oh, really?" Elisabeth said sarcastically.

"Oh, yes." Alicia ignored her sarcasm. "Tell me, Elisa, what's wrong?"

Elisabeth sighed and covered her tired face with her hands. She wanted to run out of this awkward situation but she couldn't: nobody could walk away from Alicia.

"You're asking me what's wrong; how very thoughtful of you! Are you worried about me, Ali?" Elisabeth said.

Alicia looked serious and stopped smiling.

"There's a matter of fact, I do care about you, Elisa. I care about you very much. You may not have noticed, but you are my best friend. You are one of the most important persons in my life."

"You say that as I should be honoured." Elisabeth said.

"Well, you should be." Alicia said with a pinch of annoyance.

"Well, I'm not! Oh, Ali, how could you?" Elisabeth cried out.

Alicia said nothing. She ate her toast and acted as if nothing was wrong. It only made Elisa angrier.

"How could I what?" Alicia asked when she realised Elisabeth was about to explode.

"Michael Hassan and Benjamin Mint, I was fine with that. They are not good people anyway. But Janet Harris? That poor first year from Ravenclaw? How can you attack a girl who can't even defend herself? That is just so weak, Ali."

"I had to. She was on our way."

"Ali, this is madness. You have got to stop." Elisabeth pleaded.

"We're not killing anyone, are we? No? Well then where is the problem?"

"Ali, hurting the muggle-borns won't drive them away. They are here forever, and no amount of attacks will change that."

"Don't you think I know that?" Alicia snapped.

"Then what is your point?"

"I believe that is personal." was all Alicia said before the rest of the group joined them. Elisabeth knew she could say no more in front of Peter, Frank, Andrea and all the other Slytherins around them.

Feeling sick all over again, Elisabeth pushed her way out of the crowd of Slytherins and rushed out of the Great Hall as fast as she could.

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Beverly Weasley was exhausted. She had just spent all night working for her O.W.L test and she still had to finish her essay for the potion teacher. She stretched and yawned before standing up. The Gryffindor common-room was filled with people working. Every single table was filled with books, and the sound of quills scratching on parchment never left the room.

Beverly looked around at her friends. A young man was sleeping on one of the cosy armchairs with his mouth wide open. She smiled and walked over to him.

"Close your mouth or you'll catch a fly." She whispered in his ear fondly.

The boy groaned and opened his eyes. When he saw who it was whoever, he grinned.

"Hello, Bevy." He said and the two teenagers kissed.

"Want to go for a walk? I feel as if I'm suffocating here." Beverly said gesturing vaguely at the students around her.

"Yeah, sure." The young man said and stood up.

The two Gryffindors made their way out of the portrait. They held hands and glanced at each other from time to time. It was obvious they had just started going out.

Beverly looked down at the strong hand locked with her own and she was reminded of a muggle boy she had dated nearly three years ago. Beverly hadn't thought of him for a very long time. It had been a very short relationship. The boy had been one of her cousin's friends.

Beverly smiled as she remembered her nights' escapades with the young muggle.

"What are you thinking of?" Liam, Beverly's boyfriend, asked her.

"Oh, nothing special. I'm just glad to be with you, Liam." Beverly answered vaguely.

She went back to day dreaming about the muggle she had once dated. His name was Mitch, Beverly could still remember that. She hadn't loved him, but she had been very attracted to him. The minute they had met, she had fallen for him.

Beverly was still thinking of Mitch when they bumped into a group of Slytherins.

"Hey, don't you push me!" the biggest Slytherin, a guy called Peter, shouted at Liam.

Liam didn't reply. It was better not to do so with Peter Parkinson. Everybody knew that in Hogwarts. Instead Liam turned to look at his girlfriend, who had let go of his hand.

"Alicia!" Beverly called to one of the Slytherin girls.

Liam had always known that Beverly was related to Alicia Potter, but it was still a surprise for him to find Alicia smile at a Gryffindor.

"Hello, Beverly. How are you?" Alicia said in her musical voice.

"I'm fine thank you. There's a matter of fact, I'm glad we bumped into each other: I need to talk to you." Beverly said.

"Okay." Alicia said and didn't move. Beverly laughed.

"No, I meant privately."

"Oh. Well I'm afraid I don't have the time for that. Maybe we can see each other this afternoon?" Alicia asked.

"Sure."

"Okay, well, see you."

Alicia turned and walked away. Her friends followed her. Beverly smiled at her boyfriend.

"Stop staring at her!" She teased. Liam had just been looking in Alicia's direction.

"I was not staring." Liam denied it even though it was true. He knew Alicia was a Slytherin but he couldn't help himself.

"You were. Tell me, do you think she's pretty?" Beverly asked mockingly.

Liam shrugged.

"I used to have a crush on her." He said simply.

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It was a long day. It always was anyway. Mitchell Perkins yawned. He was sitting in class and his teacher was rumbling on and on about history. It wasn't that Mitch didn't care about history, on the contrary he found it very important to understand humans better, but he was bored out of his mind.

He glanced at the clock ticking behind the teacher and sighed. Still ten minutes to go. It seemed like an eternity to Mitch. He let out a sigh of relief when the bell rang finally.

He gathered his things slowly, unlike his mates, and got out of the classroom last. Everyone had already left to go home.

Mitch took the bus and went home as well.

When he arrived in front of his house, he stopped.

In the garden next door, a man and a woman were sitting on a bench. The man was holding a little girl in his arms, and the beautiful woman beside him was smiling proudly. They formed a lovely family. But someone was missing.

"Hello, Mr and Mrs Potter." Mitch called. The woman looked up at him and smiled.

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Alicia was cold. She cursed herself for telling Beverly to meet her outside. The wind was blowing in her face and soon Alicia's face was covered with bits of snow.

"It's not a very good idea to meet out here, is it?" Beverly called from behind. Alicia whirled around and scowled.

"Well, at least it's private. Nobody can disturb us out here." Alicia said.

"Hum, Alicia, did you know you have snow in your hair?" Beverly smirked.

Alicia brushed her hair angrily and then turned her attention back on Beverly.

"So, what did you want us to meet for?"

"Hum," Beverly hesitated, "well I was wondering if you had any ideas about who is attacking all those poor students."

Alicia frowned.

"Why would I know something?" she asked.

"Well, I don't know. I thought maybe because you are in Slytherin you might have some information …"

Alicia sighed and brushed her hair out of her face impatiently. For a moment Beverly thought of Liam and what he had revealed earlier in the day. It was true that Alicia was very pretty, but Beverly knew how she was in the inside and she still couldn't understand how Alicia had gotten so popular.

" Beverly, I know you did not come to ask me about the attacker. What do you really want from me?" Alicia said.

"Nothing. I guess I just wanted to know how things are going with you and your little sister Emma."

This was a delicate subject. Alicia never spoke of her little sister. Emma was nearly three years old, yet she didn't even exist in Alicia's mind. Alicia still told people she was an only child.

"Things are fine." Alicia snapped. Whenever anyone mentioned her sister she always got in a bad mood.

Beverly sighed.

"I don't believe you. I bet you still haven't spoken to her." Beverly said accusingly.

Alicia never spoke to her little sister, and it hurt Ginny and Harry who wanted their two daughters to like each other.

"So what if I haven't? She's still a baby. What do you want me to talk to her about?" Alicia cried.

"She's nearly three years old, for god's sake, Alicia! Pull yourself together!" Beverly shouted.

Beverly was very fond of Emma. She spent hours playing with her and cuddling her. Beverly loved to show Emma all the wonders of life. The little baby girl was always interested and curious about everything although she didn't quite understand it all.

Beverly loved Emma very much; she couldn't bare the thought of Alicia being mean to her.

"Look, Beverly, there are some things that just can't be changed in life. Why can't you understand that nothing you say or do will change me? You tried to turn me into a Gryffindor and you failed. And now you're asking me to be someone I'm not. I will never get on with Emma. I'm trying not to hate her too much, I'm really trying. Isn't that enough?" Alicia said calmly.

"No. No it's not." Beverly said gritting her teeth in rage. "How can you say something like that? She's your sister! The only reason why you hate her is because you want your parents' full attention! You're so selfish, you don't even stop and think. You don't even try to get on with Emma!"

"Don't take that tone with me", Alicia said softly, "and if you came here to shout at me you might just as well leave immediately. I don't have the time for one of your moods."

Alicia started to walk away but Beverly followed her. She didn't want Alicia to have the last word. Beverly knew exactly what to say to hurt her cousin.

"Oh, and Alicia, I wanted to ask something else," Beverly called loudly, "How are things with you and Mitch?"

Author's note: Okay I don't know why but I had a lot of difficulties to write this chapter. Please review, I really want to know what you think about this chapter.