I'm back, you guys! And thank you for all of your sweet comments. They were very much appreciated :)

Before I get on with this chapter, I have something to show you all:

www . you tube /watch?v=yi_NIX_aUws

That, my dear friends, is a youtube link to a trailer for my story made by everyone's favorite badass Hufflepuff: ShadowsOnTheMoon. Give it a watch, because it was so very kind of her to make it and she clearly put a good amount of effort into it. It's really, REALLY good!

Now to make up for the extra short chapter I left you all with last time, here is a super LONG one to keep you occupied. It's got some really good stuff in here, too, comedy wise AND action wise, so hold onto your socks!


Toby walked uneasily into the girls' dormitory. He used all the tricks that Caleb told him to use in getting in, but he still felt like a gargoyle was going to come out of nowhere and smack him across the face. Even so, he took a giant step into the dorm, and allowed himself to breathe.

If I were a book filled with restricted material, where would I hide? Toby thought to himself as he sifted his way through the room, which was littered with clothes hanging on chairs, textbooks spewed across the floor, and, to his horror, a bra hanging off of one of the bedposts.

Finally, something caught his eye. Next to what he guessed was Aria's bed, due to the picture frame holding a picture of her and her family on the windowsill, was a dresser. On the dresser was a cage holding a snowy white owl, and next to that…

Bingo, Toby thought as he walked over to the dresser, ready to get his hands on the thick book on the dresser. There was a layer of dust on it, so he let out a long breath to blow it off. Specks of lint and dust flew everywhere, and he wiped his hand across the cover to reveal the title.

The Chamber of Secrets: Where We Are Today.

Damn, Toby thought morbidly as he picked up the book, flipping mindlessly through its pages. What could possibly be in here? And why is it with Aria, and not with Spencer?

Suddenly, the owl in the cage started screeching, pecking at the bars of the cage in a less-than-affectionate manner. Toby freaked out, nearly dropping the book. He set it down on the dresser before attending to the owl.

"Shhh!" he said frantically. "Shut up. No, shut up! I'm serious, be quiet!"

"He's not gonna listen if you talk to him like that."

Toby whipped around, his heart ready to explode out of his chest. But it returned to a normal rhythm when he saw who it was.

The straight, chestnut hair and knowing smirk indicated that he was standing before none other than Paige McCullers.

Paige was a Gryffindor, not a Ravenclaw, so she wouldn't be as offended that he was in here.

"Relax," she said breezily when she saw the panicked expression on his face. "I'm not gonna report you or anything."

"You're not?" he breathed thankfully, but then he paused. "Wait… what are you doing here?"

"I followed you," she said simply.

Toby leaned back slightly, more confused than ever. "Why?"

"Because I know what you're doing, and I want in," she said determinedly. "I want to protect the girls, especially Emily, just as much."

Toby didn't respond; he was still trying to process everything. As soon as he returned to his senses, he reached behind him to pick up the book in question, and then held it out to Paige. "This book," he spoke, "might answer majority of the questions we've been asking."

"It might?"

"If we're right about it," Toby confirmed with a nod of his head. "And I really, really think we are."

"That's where you're wrong, Cavanaugh."

Paige and Toby jerked their heads in the direction of the voice, and to their horror, Lucas emerged from under the sheets on one of the bedposts on the far side of the room. He took a minute to wrinkle his nose, nearly gagging from the strong smell of perfume, but then stepped off of the bed. "Hand the book over."

At this, Toby and Paige simply burst out laughing. Lucas could try all he wanted, but he was far from intimidating.

Lucas bristled. "I'm serious!" he said, his voice cracking. "Hand it over if you want to see those you love survive."

Now Toby was just angry. He stopped guffawing as he hugged the book closer to his chest. "Not a chance," he said venomously.

"Look, I'm on your side, I promise," Lucas said, now completely serious. "But if that book gets in the wrong hands, it could all go crashing down."

"What's in it?" Paige asked. Lucas just hung his head.

"Bad things," he said in a voice too gravelly to be his own. "Very bad things."

"How are you on our side if you were just threatening us earlier?" Toby asked. "Or at least… attempting to threaten us?"

"It's complicated," Lucas said, holding his hand up to signal that they should all move on. "But the girls will be up here any minute. You have to get out of here."

"Why are they coming?" Paige asked, now scared.

"Because they're catching on, and I can't let that happen!"

"Why can't you let that happen?"

"I told you, it's complicated!" Lucas exclaimed stubbornly, and with that he darted out of the room, leaving Paige and Toby staring after him in wonderment.

But not for long.

"C'mon, I know a shortcut," Paige said quickly, moving over to the nearest window and undoing the hinges.

"How do you know a shortcut?" Toby asked, a little shocked.

Paige just looked behind her, the same knowing smirk from before still etched upon her face. "Please. McCullers may be my last name, but my middle name is most definitely Batman, and Batman knows all of the shortcuts."


Lucas trotted down the stairs at top speed, but he soon found he was too late. At the bottom of the steps, simply waiting for him, were the four girls, Caleb in tow.

"Shit," he muttered, retreating up the stairs, but a strong, thin arm whipped him around. Once he had been fully turned back around, that strong, thin arm slapped him straight across the face.

"You're the one that gave Caleb that picture!" Hanna shouted. "You're the one who's been trying to torture us this entire year!"

"I'm not, I promise!" he said sincerely as he rubbed the welt that was forming on his cheek, trying not to wince in pain. "I mean, yeah, I did that, but it was only because I was being told to!"

"Who was telling you to?" Hanna said threateningly, grabbing Lucas by the scruff of his robe collar, while the others, Caleb especially, stayed back in amazement. Spencer was right; Hanna certainly could squeeze Lucas like a pimple.

"Hanna, I can't tell you that!" he squeaked. "Do you want me to end up like Mona?"

"If it means ending this thing, then we'll take that chance," Caleb said, stepping forward. Spencer, Emily, and Aria did the same, making a small semicircle around Hanna and Lucas.

Lucas squealed in fear, trying to break free, but Hanna just tightened her grip. "Okay! Okay!" he squeaked, finally cracking. "I owe you at least a little something."

"A little something?" Hanna scoffed. "You owe us a lot more than that!"

"I can't tell you who she is," Lucas said. "But I can tell you where she's hiding."

As he said this, Spencer noticed that he was looking straight at her. Was she just imagining that? Was she being paranoid? Or was she really a part of this without even knowing?

But as soon as they locked eyes, Lucas turned away. "The Room of Requirement," he said in a low voice. "Do you know where that is?"

Spencer felt her breath catch in her throat. "I do," she said weakly.

Lucas just kept going. "Good," he said affirmatively. "Go there, walk around it three times, and think about this: the perfect hideout for if you were planning on purifying the wizarding world."

Aria felt her skin prickle. "Jesus..."

Emily gulped loudly, and Hanna loosened her grip on Lucas's collar. "I take it you've been in there?" she sneered.

"No! No!" he said defensively. "I haven't, I promise! I'm not even supposed to know about it."

"Then how do you?" Aria spoke up.

"I followed her there one night," he breathed, still gasping for air. He could still feel the spot on his neck where Hanna had grappled the hell out of it. "Then I kept going back, making sure she wasn't there when I did it. It took me ages to figure out how to get in, but I finally found it."

"I'm so sick of all these pronouns!" Hanna said frustratedly, letting go of Lucas completely to kick the nearest stair rail. "She, her, it? Lucas, who is she?"

But as soon as he was out of Hanna's grasp, Lucas ducked down and made his great escape. He pushed his way past the girls, and with Caleb he had some difficulty, but then managed to sprint out of the hall.

"Dammit!" Caleb said, not bothering to hide his annoyance.

"No, guys, it's okay!" Spencer said, now extremely confident. "We have this, now. Let's go to the Room of Requirement!"

With that, she took off. Caleb ran ahead, and so did Hanna. Emily started to, but she stopped when she saw Aria staying in place on the stairs.

"Aria, c'mon," Emily said, grabbing Aria's hand and pulling her forward. Aria went along, but she couldn't help but look behind her as she did so.

She wasn't just scared for the result. She was borderline terrified.


AfterEllen readers? Are you breathing? Anyway, Lucas just gave up a tasty bit of information, and both Spencer AND Aria seem like they're hiding something. Could it be true? Is Team Sparia evil? Sound off in the reviews!

PS: Who here is excited for 4B? I KNOW I AM! There have been several tweets lately by the writers and directors saying that Lucy Hale is going to blow us all away. Spencer-type breakdown? I think yes. My heart is going to be shattered into multiple pieces, but I'm a sucker for good acting, so I suppose it's a good sacrifice for a few tears ;)

PPS: 15 DAYS until the Halloween episode!