Okay, to make up for the long wait last time, I decided to upload another chapter. That, and I'm going on a trip for two weeks, starting on the ninth of June. I won't be back until next Saturday, so I wrote as quickly as I could.

I don't own Harry Potter! Anything you recognize is from Chamber of Secrets. Also, I do not own the Young Wizards series.

Chapter Nine: Didn't See That Coming

Apparently, Colin had been trying to sneak out of the Gryffindor common room so that he could go to the Dueling club, even though that night had been for second years only. He had been Petrified five feet from the Fat Lady's portrait. He had held up his camera (thank God), so he was only Petrified.

The Fat Lady on the other hand… She had been Petrified, too. Over the next few days, the school was in complete shock. Sure, students and animals could be Petrified, but portraits? Nobody thought it was possible. Unfortunately, it was. Both Colin Creevey and the portrait of the Fat Lady were taken to the hospital wing.

As I walked through corridors on my way to classes, the students kept to the walls. There, they pointed at me and whispered. I hated it. I would keep my head down and walk as quickly as I could. Mandy, Lisa, and Abby would surround me as we went to classes, determined to keep the students away. (Personally, I thought they didn't need to.) Luna would help when we would meet up.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville were pretty much doing the same thing. Well, the whispers and staring and skirting were a lot worse for Harry because they kept accusing him of being my evil twin. That made me so mad.

Cedric and Draco started spending much more time with me, at different times of course. Draco ate every meal with me, and Cedric and I had started meeting in the library to do homework together.

Whenever I saw Ginny, she always looked pale. Luna and I both kept trying to talk to her, but she kept backing away. Luna commented once that the red head could possibly have been possessed by a wrackspurt. I thought that the blonde wasn't that far off.

One particular occasion came to mind…

One Saturday, when Mandy, Lisa, Abby, and I visited Hagrid in his hut, he looked a little upset.

"What's wrong, Hagrid?" Abby asked, putting her hand on Hagrid's own enormous one.

"All of my roosters are killed off," he replied. "Somethin's killin' 'em off. Later, I'm gonna see the headmaster, and then maybe, I can put a charm on the coop."

There was a timid knock on the door. Hagrid stood up and opened it. "Hello, there Ginny. Are yeh okay?"

"I'm fine." Ginny didn't sound okay. She stepped around Hagrid and took a seat next to Lisa. The red head jumped when Lisa set her mug of tea down. When I looked at her, she was extremely pale as if she had watched someone die. In the back of my mind, I knew that she had watched Hagrid's roosters die.

I knew that, unfortunately, it was only going to get worse.

One day, the day before Christmas break, I saw Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville all leaning together at the table in the Great Hall. What were they up to?

What's going on? I asked.

Harry visibly jumped and turned to look at me. He looked away from my face. Nothing.

And I'm a platypus. Just tell me, what's going on?

Nothing.

Fine. I really hoped that they weren't going to use Polyjuice Potion any time soon.

[Harry's POV]

I really hoped Dani didn't figure out that we were going to use Polyjuice Potion. But by her intense green-eyed glare, she must have. Instead of throwing a stream of questions at me, she turned back to her meal. That surprised me. She normally wanted to know everything. Then I realized: She most likely already knew because of the future thing.

"What was that about, Harry?" Ron asked.

"Dani's probably guessed what we're doing," I replied, not wanting to spill her secret. Ron, Hermione, and Neville sighed.

"Let's not worry about that," Hermione said. "As I was saying, I found out that Malfoy, Nott, Crabbe, and Goyle are staying."

"Malfoy's probably staying because of Dani," Neville said.

"So the other three must be staying because of the Chamber," Ron added.

"The Polyjuice Potion is nearly ready," Hermione continued. "In a few days, we may know the truth."

[Dani's POV]

"I've been thinking," Mandy said from next to me. "About what the monster could be…"

"Go on," I coaxed.

"I don't know. I need to research this."

"You think it has something to do with snakes, don't you?" Abby asked.

"Well, yes. But as I said, I need to do some more research."

"This can wait until after Christmas, can't it?" Lisa asked. "It's the last day of term, and Christmas is only in a few short days."

"Okay."

The next day, the majority of the school left, leaving only the Weasleys, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Mandy, Draco, Nott, Crabbe, Goyle, and myself. I finally got to relax. No more (or at least for a couple of weeks) would I have to avoid people or hear them whisper and point at me.

I asked Professor Flitwick if Mandy and I could stay in Gryffindor tower, like I had the previous year. He said, "Yes." He gave us a password that would only work for us on the portrait of a very bony and paranoid woman who had replaced the Fat Lady.

I woke up on Christmas morning at 8:30. The sunlight was in my face, and I could hear Mandy tearing into her presents in the bed next to mine. I sat up in the Gryffindor bed and stretched, trying to work out the stiffness. Once I finished, I looked at the foot of the bed. I saw a small pile of presents. I tore into them eagerly.

Harry had gotten me a book called So You Want to be a Wizard. It looked very interesting, and I wondered how accurate it was. From Ron, I received Flying with the Cannons, a book about his favorite Quidditch team. From Hermione, I got an absolutely magnificent eagle feathered quill. Neville and Abby got me some wizard sweets. Mandy and Lisa had put their money together and bought me a camera. It made me think glumly of Colin. What was his family going through? Luna got me a free monthly subscription to her father's magazine, the Quibbler, for a year. She was kind of spacey, but she was also one of the nicest people I knew. Mrs. Weasley had made me a brand new blue sweater and a small tin of fudge. She was such a kind person.

Draco's present made me blush. He had gotten me an absolutely beautiful blue eagle pin. Cedric too had gotten me something: it was a scrapbook. The scrapbook would go well with my camera.

Not a bad haul.

I looked over to Mandy and Hermione's respective beds. Mandy had just finished opening her presents, and Hermione's bed was empty. Maybe she had just gone to Harry and Ron's dorm.

"Happy Christmas," Mandy said.

"Merry Christmas," I replied. I knew that I would hear "Happy Christmas" all day, but it would still sound strange.

"Thank you Dani!" the brunette said as she held up a necklace and pair of earrings that I had gotten her. They had eagles on them. Just recently, Mandy had been getting into jewelry.

"And thanks for the camera! I've been wanting to take pictures for a while now."

"Come on. Let's go down to breakfast."

After we were dressed warmly, we walked together down the stairs. The castle was so empty. It was eerie and chilly. I liked it. When we reached the Great Hall, though, I welcomed its warmth gratefully.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting on one side of the Gryffindor table while Fred George and Ginny sat on the far side of it. They were leaning close together and whispering. I could even feel Harry's nervousness now that we were near each other.

I crept up behind them. When I got close enough, I asked, "Watcha doin'?"

All three of them jumped.

"Hi, Dani, Mandy," all three of them chorused in unison. They looked nervous.

"Mind if we sit here?" Mandy asked. Harry, Ron, and Hermione shook their heads. We sat down. I was sure they were up to something

What are you up to? I asked telepathically.

Nothing, Harry replied.

Right.

It snowed again last night," Mandy said. "It's prefect for a snowball fight. You guys want to go have one?"

"Sorry," Hermione said. "We're kind of busy."

"Doing what?" I asked.

"Homework," Ron said as he looked down at his bacon.

"Okay, let's stop there and enjoy today. It's Christmas! It only happens once a year."

"Okay," Harry said. "Let's have a snowball fight."

We dragged the rest of the Weasleys and Draco with us. We had a great time with the snowball fight. Well, Percy would have, too if Fred and George hadn't have charmed his Prefect badge to say "Pinhead". It was the Weasleys versus the rest of us. Five on five. Draco was a great asset to us because he was very aggressive and knew all sorts of hexes.

We played for hours. When none of us could feel our fingers anymore, we finally went inside. We all went in the Great Hall, where there was an enormous fire in its grate. Soon, I was feeling all toasty warm. Percy dried our clothes with a flick of his wand and a murmur. After that, Mandy wanted to go to the library, but I told her that it was nearly time for the Christmas feast.

We all sat at the Gryffindor table, enjoying everyone's company as the teachers put the finishing touches on the decorations. Draco sat at the end of the table. From the look of his face, he thought he didn't belong. I dragged him unwillingly to where the rest of us were sitting.

Finally, after an hour of waiting, the decorations were complete: Twelve enormous Christmas trees decked with silver and gold ornaments and streamers. Enchanted snow fell from the ceiling above. Holly and mistletoe criss-crossed on the ceiling.

The feast started. At the Gryffindor table were Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, George, Percy, a reluctant Draco, Mandy, and myself. The Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables were empty. Only Nott, Crabbe, and Goyle sat at the Slytherin table.

Professor Dumbledore led us in several Christmas carols, wizard and Muggle. I knew most of the Muggle ones. Hagrid's voice was definitely the loudest while mine was the worst. I couldn't sing to save my life. I didn't care. The Bible does say, after all, "Make a joyful noise!" It was definitely joyful, not pleasant.

Harry and Ron shoveled food into their mouths, being their typical selves, until Hermione pulled on Ron's arm, who pulled on Harry's. The brunette led them out into the Entrance Hall. I knew that they were up to something.

Harry, what are you up to? I asked mentally. And don't say "Nothing".

Um, we're doing homework, Harry lied.

Okay, you are a terrible liar!

Fine, I'll tell you later.

I dropped it after I realized that I had annoyed him. I figured that it would have something to do with Polyjuice Potion.

[Harry's POV]

I knew that Dani was on to us, but I couldn't worry about that. About thirty minutes after our last mental conversation, Ron and I were walking to the dungeons disguised as Crabbe and Goyle, thanks to the help of that vile tasting Polyjuice Potion.

We had a problem, though. We didn't know where the Slytherin common room was. Another problem was that we had run into Percy, who had left the table early.

"What're you doing down here?" Ron asked in Crabbe's gruff voice. I had to remind myself that it was Ron and not the Slytherin.

"That," Percy said, "is none of your business. It's Crabbe, isn't it?"

"Wh- oh, yeah."

"Well, get off to your dormitories. It's not safe to go wandering around dark corridors these days."

"You are," Ron pointed out, which looked very strange on Crabbe.

"I am a prefect. Nothing's about to attack me."

A voice called out. It wasn't one I was particularly partial to, but I was somewhat glad to hear it. It was Theodore Nott himself, strolling down the corridor.

"I've been looking for you two for ages," Nott said. "You've been pigging out again in the Great Hall, haven't you?"

After Ron and I nodded, the Slytherin turned to Percy. "See yah, Weasley. Crabbe, Goyle, and I have some homework to do." He stressed the word homework. Somehow, I knew that it wasn't homework at all.

Nott stopped at a blank stretch of stonewall. "Pureblood," he called out. A hidden door that I, if I hadn't have known was there would never have seen it. Nott led Ron and me through.

The Slytherin common room looked just like the Gryffindor common room except that the main colors were green and silver, the ceiling was low, and the walls were a little slimy. I suspected that we were under the Black Lake.

Nott led us to a secluded corner, where there were three chairs surrounding a circular table. We sat around it, and then Nott pulled out pieces of paper from his pocket.

"Are those plans for who you're going to Petrify next?" Ron asked.

Nott stared at my friend for a second. He burst out laughing. Thank God none of the other Slytherins were in there.

"Nice one, Crabbe. And I thought I told you, these are the plans for a prank. Those stupid Weasleys think they're the greatest, thinking that they can pull better pranks than me. I'll show them, and I won't let some 'Chamber of Secrets' rubbish get in my way."

Ron's face contorted with anger.

"What's the matter with you, Crabbe?" Nott asked.

"Stomachache."

"Wait," I said, "you don't know who the heir of Slytherin is?"

"You know I don't Goyle," Nott said as he raised his eyebrows. "I wish I did though, I want to help him pull wicked pranks on those Mudbloods. I asked my father once who opened the Chamber last time. He didn't tell. All he told me was that the last time the Chamber was opened, a Mudblood died. Then he told me to leave the heir to do his business, but I want to help anyways." He sighed. "Back to business, do either of you know Granger's schedule? We need to be able to pull this prank successfully."

Ron's face turned red, and so did his hair. Uh oh. He looked at me, horror spreading on his face. Time to go! We jumped up and started running to the door.

"Medicine for my stomach," Ron grunted.

As we ran back to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, my mind was reeling. If Nott wasn't the heir, then who was?

[Dani's POV]

Harry and Ron came back to the common room later on, when it was getting dark, without Hermione. Mandy and I were sitting by the fire, waiting for them. Fred and George were playing Exploding Snap behind us, and Percy had just returned. He was upstairs, reading a book. Ginny was in her dorm.

"Where's Hermione?" Mandy asked Harry and Ron.

The two looked at each other, and then at their respective shoes.

"Oh, um," Ron said. "She got sick just after we left the Great Hall, so we took her to the hospital wing. She doesn't feel well enough to see anyone."

"Okay," Mandy testily said, "but she looked fine earlier."

The duo walked up the stairs to their dorm room. As soon as they were out of earshot, the brunette turned to me.

"I can't take it any longer," Mandy anxiously said. "I have to know what the monster is. I'm going to the library tonight."

"Not without me, you're not," I said. "It's not safe out there." Especially when I don't know who's going to be attacked next, I thought to myself.

"Then let's go!"

We walked out of the common room. I knew that we needed to be invisible, or else we would get caught. But I didn't know if my special necklace would work for two people. I grabbed Mandy's left hand with my right and touched a tiny indention in my crescent moon-shaped pendant. Nearly instantly, we both turned invisible. We slowly set off for the library.

[Harry's POV]

The strangest thing happened while I was brushing my teeth. I heard a voice.

"Come… Come to me… Let me rip you… Let me tear you… KILL!"

I jumped. Where was that coming from? Was it going to kill? It was. Nott had said that the last time the Chamber was opened, a Muggle-born had died.

"Harry, what is it?" Ron asked.

"Did you hear that voice?"

Ron looked at me as if I had grown an extra head. "No. You must be tired, mate. I'm off to bed."

I must've been hearing things. I prayed I was.

[Dani's POV]

Mandy and I reached the dark and empty library in half an hour. It took us that long because there were a few teachers patrolling the corridors. Thankfully, neither of us got caught.

When we got into the library, Mandy let go of my hand (becoming visible in the process) and walked to the section on magical beasts. She started searching for titles that could possibly help. I did the same on a different bookshelf in the same section.

"Dani, come here," Mandy whispered. I tiptoed over to her. She held a book that was called Serpents of the Magical World. "Okay, so what are we looking for?"

"Let's see, it Petrifies people without leaving a trace."

"I may have it," Mandy nearly shouted. "A basilisk can kill with a direct look in the eye, but Petrifies with an indirect look. Spiders fear it above all things-"

"I haven't seen a spider for a couple of months, thank God-"

"Roosters are fatal to it-"

"Didn't Hagrid say something about his roosters dying?"

"And it can live for hundreds of years-"

"Slytherin would want something exactly like that."

Mandy folded the corner of the page. "This is it, Dani!" she said excitedly. "We have to show this to the others immediately!" She held onto the book in one hand and grabbed my hand with the other one.

I touched the indention in my necklace, and once again, we turned invisible. WE walked quickly but carefully back to the common room.

Suddenly, I heard a noise behind me. I gasped, hoping it wasn't a teacher. I heard a hissing and the exhale of a large breath. My heart hammered in my chest. I had a feeling of what was behind us.

I extended my hands, dropping my necklace in the process. I created a dome-shaped shield, which was swirling purple and sky blue. I tried my hardest to make it as thick as I could. Mandy jumped when all of that happened. I could hear the basilisk to my right. I heard Mandy turn. She fell against me, completely rigid. I nearly lost my concentration as I tried to keep the shield up. I could feel sweat falling from my brow.

Basilisk! I mentally shouted as loud as I could. The monster in the Chamber is a basi-

I looked into its eyes. I felt stiff, and then everything turned black.

I knew that people were going to be Petrified. But what I didn't know was that I would be one of them.

[Harry's POV]

I was having a dream, a strange one. Dobby the House-Elf was dancing the polka with Luna, and then it started raining Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. Suddenly, it changed. It was dark, and I felt fear coursing through my veins. I heard my sister's voice. She was saying something about a chamber and then a basin. Or was it basil?

The next thing I knew, someone was shaking my shoulder.

"Harry!" It was Ron. "Are you okay? You've been moaning in your sleep. Something about a chamber."

"Ron, something happened to Dani. Something bad."

"Are you sure? It must have just been a nightmare."

"It wasn't! I have to find out!" I closed my eyes. Dani, can you hear me? There wasn't an answer. That was it.

I jumped out of bed and put on my dressing gown. I picked up my wand and shoved it in my pocket. I ran out of the dorm and the common room. As soon as I stepped out, I ran into Professor McGonagall.

"Potter, Weasley, what is the meaning of this?"

"Something's happened to Dani, I'm sure of it!"

"Are you sure it wasn't just a bad dream?"

"I'm sure! I can't pick up any thoughts from her! Please, we have to find her!" Desperation filled my voice.

"I'll check the dorm first." What? My twin was in danger! She strode into the common room. A minute later, she ran out. "I will alert the other teachers on duty." She muttered a few words, and a silvery cat made of light burst from her wand. It charged through the darkness of the castle, leaving behind a short trail of light.

And so we waited for what I thought was hours. Eventually, the cat made of light bounded back. It turned around and gestured with its tail. It looked like it wanted us to follow. McGonagall followed it, and Ron and I followed her.

Finally, we stopped at the hospital wing. When the Transfiguration teacher walked in, she gasped. Ron and I walked in.

"Bloody hell," Ron swore. I felt my face turn white.

Lying on a bed, as stiff as a statue, was my sister. A look of fear graced her face. Lying in a bed next to her was Mandy. Both of them were Petrified.

A/N: I bet none of ya'll saw that coming, did you? I had this all planned out since when I was first writing this particular story. Next chapter is going to be strictly in Harry's POV or in third person, whichever you want it to be in. The next to last paragraph is as close as you'll see me swear. I don't swear, curse, cuss, whatever you want to call it. I just don't do it.

ShortieGirl1- Well, I'm glad you like the story (other than Draco). Hopefully, this chapter will help with that. That's why I put in the Polyjuice Potion bit: so I could describe Nott's personality a bit better