Chris's POV

I blinked stupidly for a few seconds, unsure of what to do. Cassandra had just plopped down next to me at the Gryffindor breakfast table. While she looked composed to the average eye I could tell she had used a lot of courage to do it.

"What are you doing here?" Ron asked rudely through a mouthful of oatmeal.

"Eat or speak Ron," Hermione reprimanded him. "This is Cassandra, Chris's cousin."

"It's nice to meet you all," Cassandra said coolly. "I have a feeling I should avoid the Slytherin table for a few days. Draco and his goons were not happy after my hex kicked in on Draco's face."

"You did that?" Fred, or maybe George, butted in. He had gotten up from a few spaces down and was casually leaning over by Ron, stealing a piece of his toast.

"Yeah," Cassandra stuttered, her cheeks gaining color. It must be Fred then.

"I remember that one!' I exclaimed "Didn't you use it on Alexander last summer?"

"Yeah, he splashed me while I was sitting by the pool, reading." Cassandra replied. "I've used it on him several times, one would think he would learn his lesson."

"You've used magic outside of school?" Harry piped up.

"Yeah, in America there's no such thing as underage magic." I said, hoping to sound smart.

"Really, that's totally unfair!" Ron spoke after swallowing a huge mouthful.

"That's because of the Salem witch trials," Cassandra said after sipping some orange juice. She must be trying to look sophisticated. Normally, she gulps it down. "Several young witches were caught and killed during them. The government then decided that the training of wizards and witches would begin at ten years old."

"Yeah, and they also decided that everyone over ten could use magic whenever they want, except in the presence of muggles." I supplied. "There's been some debate over that in the last couple of decades or so. Mainly because the everyone just uses that to be lazy instead of learn."

"Yeah, like making your toothbrush brush your teeth for you." Cassandra put in, after spooning a large portion of scrambled eggs onto her plate.

"It's pretty awesome." I concluded.

After that the conversation pretty much ended. Fred made a crack at Ron about his wand and dodged the cereal thrown at his head. Harry and Ron seemed to be cool with Cassandra hanging out with us, and were polite to her. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw how well Cassandra was getting on with everyone. She had trouble making friends in new places. She had known all her friends all her life, she's never had to make new friends.

Cassandra and Hermione got on really well. I was happy, for both of them. I don't really have a lot of girlfriends, I'm more comfortable around guys like Harry and Ron. I'm glad that Hermione has a girlfriend and that Cassandra has a new friend.

"It's almost time for potions," Cassandra said. "Do you want to walk with me Hermione, I think you'd be interested in this book."

"Sure," Hermione replied, already packing up her stuff.

They left together, earning themselves some nasty glares from the Slytherin table. I also noticed some disapproving looks from Snape. He seemed to be the only one though, Professor Dumbledore looked delighted to see a Slytherin and a Gryffindor getting along. Professor McGonagall looked stern, but she didn't seem disapproving. It was hard to tell though, she always looked stern.

"Should we go to?" Harry asked me.

"Nah," I waved him down. "Cassandra always leaves early for class. We got plenty of time. Can you pass that butter?"

"Sure thing, Chris." Harry replied. He passed it to me and our fingers brushed against each other for a second. I blushed but Harry didn't even notice.

Eventually, as the Great Hall cleared out, we got up and headed to potions. Hermione and Cassandra had already paired up. Harry and Ron sat down with each other and I ended up with Neville.

Don't get me wrong, I like Neville. I wonder how he got into Gryffindor, but he's a nice guy. His issue is that he gets flustered too easily. If he makes a mistake, he tends to make more. Luckily, our spot was right next to Hermione and Cassandra's.

We managed to get an acceptable grade on our potion, with a lot of help from Cassandra. Hermione tried to help, but Snape took off ten points from Gryffindor for being "a showoff". However, when Cassandra helped Neville and I Snape turned a blind eye. He really wants Slytherin to win the House cup I guess.

Eventually, Cassandra and I got settled into a schedule. We are breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the Great Hall at the Gryffindor table with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Every time Gryffindor had classes with the Slytherins, Cassandra would work with us. We rotated partners and got closer to the guys.

Harry was brave, modest, and loyal. He always stuck up for his friends and didn't back down from bullies. He did his best to avoid that annoying Lockhart and Colin. He never tried to show off either. It was a little odd that he heard voices during his detention with Lockhart. Plus he was too nice to refuse when Nearly Headless Nick invited his to his deathday party. I got suckered into going. Harry didn't realize the power of his cute crooked, guilty grin.

Ron has good intentions but they seem to get him in trouble. When Malfoy called Hermione a mudblood, he tried to curse him. Unfortunately it backfired and he was puking slugs for hours. His loyalty is admirable though, he teases Hermione a lot but didn't hesitate to defend her. It was a shame that neither Harry or Ron were interested in girls yet.

Hermione seemed like a nerd at first but she got better as I got to know her. Plus it was great when she let the guys and me copy off her notes/homework. Hermione was nice, but I got along better with the guys than with her. Hermione and Cassandra became inseparable though. They spent hours in the library together, discussing classes and the differences between the magical communities of America and Great Britain. One time they even had a "sleepover". The fact that Cassandra volunteered to share her room with someone said a lot about the strength of their friendship.

Eventually, it was time for the Halloween Feast and Nearly Headless Nick's deathday party. Cassandra claimed that Snape had told her to sit with the Slytherins for feasts and avoided going. I couldn't tell if she was lying. She's brutally honest in general, but she lies when it suits her. She's probably going to be very accomplished at Occlumency.

Anyway, the night of the feast eventually came. The Halloween feast looked awesome. Thousands of bats flitted about the ceiling of the Great Hall, making all the candles flicker. It gave off a creepy, but cool, vibe. Plus Hagrid had carved out giant pumpkins into lanterns. I even heard that Professor Dumbledore had booked some dancing skeletons.

Harry wanted to back out of going but Hermione insisted he keep his promise. So Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I all headed towards the dungeons. It was freezing, and the amount of ghosts was overwhelming. Peeves and Moaning Mertle were but there too, making it even worse. Plus there was no food, making it a complete waste of time. Eventually we all agreed to leave, even Hermione was eager to get upstairs.

However, as we were walking upstairs, hoping to make it to the Great Hall before all the food disappeared, Harry suddenly stopped. He appeared to be hearing something we couldn't. Before we could calm him down he ran off. He eventually stopped in a deserted passage. Ron and I started to question Harry's sanity, but Hermione interrupted us.

"Look!" she gasped.

The flaming torches on the wall cast flickering light through the corridor. Foot-high words smeared on the wall were illuminated, they looked to be dripping. The words appeared to be written in blood, but a clearer look revealed it to simply be red paint. However, the color still had a very creepy effect.

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.

I spaced out, feeling eerily calm, as I read the words. As I got over my initial shock, I felt no fear. I assumed it to be a prank. Ron's voice jolted me out trance and made me realize I was wrong.

Mrs. Norris, the caretaker's cat, was hanging from by her tail from the torch bracket. She was as stiff as a board, her eyes were wide and staring. A gasp of horror rose from my lips. This was serious Dark Magic. Something big was going here at this school. Despite the fear twisting in my belly, I felt another emotion. Excitement. Something was going on here and I planned to find out what it was.