She thought her life was over – but fate gave her another chance, in a world of magic. Now, running around Hogwarts with James Potter and his friends, she's about to make choices that will change the future in ways she never thought possible…
Marauder's Phase
CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE
Heir Revealed
That night, I sat in the common room with the Marauders, but I had never felt so distanced from them.
I wasn't like them. I was a Parsletongue. The Sorting Hat had tried to put me in Slytherin.
I didn't think I was a muggle-born anymore…
Glancing across the room, I caught sight of both Serilda and Louis looking at me. Something passed between us, and I didn't like the way they were both looking at me. It worried me. Louis had always been convinced that I was innocent, and he had managed to convince Serilda too…
But what if they had heard me talking to the snake earlier on today, and thought otherwise?
I shouldn't let myself worry too much about it. Gryffindor had a Quidditch match tomorrow, and I was still stuck playing as Seeker, despite my better judgement I had accepted.
We were playing against Slytherin, and those were the only snakes that I wanted to be worrying about.
Besides, I was wondering if I'd end up crashing into Regulus again- or being thrown off my broom by two bludgers and an extremely hot burst of gold and silver magic.
What had that spell been, anyway? It had been hot enough to melt through my glove, and permanently scar a small section of my hand, where the spell had hit closest to, but I had never seen fire like that before. It certainly hadn't come from Incendio or Bluebell Fire. I had never seen anything like it before.
Sighing, I got up and excused myself, feeling the eyes of my fellow Gryffindors on me as I did. Oh great. Now they thought I was up to something, too.
I went for a long walk around the castle, running into a few students here and there, who all gave me ridiculously long berths in the hallway. The Slytherins were suspicious of me, the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were scared of me and now, worst of all, it seemed as if my own house was turning against me too.
All because I'd saved one measly little snake. Ooh, when I got my hands on that Cobra…
Without really noticing it, I ended up on the first floor, in the same corridor as Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. I'd been wandering around for nearly two hours now. I checked my pocket watch. Nobody was supposed to be wandering around now. Whoever it was had either lost track of time like I had, or was up to no good like everyone thought I was.
Suddenly, I heard a voice, and without thinking I ducked behind a particularly fat suit of armour, and watched as someone came toward where I was, but he was heading for the staircase.
It was Louis Bickley and, as I watched, I saw that the bottom of his robes were sopping wet.
"Damn it," I heard him mutter as he walked straight past my hiding area. "Almost succeeded this time too…that's one powerful spell…they won't get away from me…I won't let them continue running around the school like this…tomorrow, it ends…"
From where I crouched, hiding, I had a perfect view of his right hand.
It was burnt, the same way mine had been after that Quidditch match.
Hardly daring to believe it, I sat there, scarcely breathing, until Louis' footsteps disappeared up the staircase.
Only then, gasping, did I crawl out from behind the suit of armour, and sit there on the stone floor, my eyes staring but unseeing as I watched an alarmingly large number of spiders scurry across the floor toward the window.
Louis…Louis Bickley…of course, it all made perfect sense now. He'd said I wasn't the heir of Slytherin, because he was and that's how he'd been sure, but now that things had changed (just what, I knew not) he'd been acting distant, and maybe even Serilda was in on the plot.
The burn on his hand…he must've burnt himself when he was practicing the spell he'd used on me during the Quidditch match…I couldn't fathom why he'd done it…unless he was working for the Dark Lord.
Louis…the attacks had started the year he'd transferred here…he'd set the Basalisk on all of those students…
I felt sick to my stomach, and pressed my hand to my mouth. Louis…it was him…Louis was the heir of Slytherin…
Suddenly, I heard a musical voice from behind me. "Miss. Pax? Are you alright?"
I looked up, and into the startling blue eyes of Professor Ackerly, looking beautiful even in the moonlight.
"Y-yes…" I nodded, and he reached out a hand, which I took, and allowed him to help me to my feet. "Just…" I trailed off, wondering if I should tell Professor Ackerly the frightening conclusion I had just come to. As I gazed at him in all of his beauty, and was struck again by how different his eyes seemed, I found myself asking him: "Are you a Veela!?" And then I blushed. I couldn't believe that I had just asked him that! Oh, how embarrassing!
Thankfully, he didn't seem offended by the question, and just laughed musically. "I am half Veela, Miss. Pax. My dear mother was a Veela." I didn't miss the past tense.
"Oh, sorry…" I muttered. I made my decision then and there, suddenly. "Professor, I think Louis Bickley is the heir of Slytherin! I think he's the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets!" There, I'd said it.
Professor Ackerly looked understandably shocked. "M-Miss. Pax! Do you…have proof of this?" He asked, his beautiful face clearly stunned.
I half nodded. "I saw him a few minutes ago…he was muttering about 'not letting them run around the school anymore'. He says he's going to end it all tomorrow," I was speaking very fast, the words tumbling about each other. "And, Professor, his hand was burnt in the same way mine was, with the same spell that hit my hand during the Quidditch match!" I showed Professor Ackerly the scar. "I think he must've used it, and he accidentally burnt himself tonight!"
Professor Ackerly was regarding me with a scrutinizing expression. At last, he nodded. "Alright then Miss. Pax. Return to your dormitory, and speak of this to no one. I will sort this all out." He added, and turned, purple robes swishing as he hurried down the hall.
"Professor?" I called after him.
"Yes?" He asked, turning around to look at me, his expression unreadable. He must've been in shock.
"Just so that you know," I said, wondering if I should tell him this or not. "The monster in the Chamber…I think it's a Basalisk."
The Professor's face didn't change, but some small, indefinite light seemed to spark in his eyes. "I understand, Miss. Pax." He said, and turned and walked away.
And from within the walls of the castle, I heard the hissing voice say: "…I am hungry…tomorrow…I will KILL…"
***
No One's P.O.V:
Emma got back to the common room twenty minutes after Louis did, headed straight to her dorm as he had done, and collapsed onto her bed to dream worried dreams.
From his seat at a table in the corner of the common room, Remus watched her.
On the table before him was the Marauder's Map.
And on his face was the stunned expression of someone who has just learnt a horrible secret.