Potters head snapped in our direction, sending a nasty glare.

"Draco, you fool..." I muttered, urging him to slink back and blend in, biting my bottom lip.

"Who is responsible for this?" spat McGonnagall, her eyes lingering on us longer than necessary.

Filch was firing out threats directed towards Potter, which was quite an enjoyable sight. Teachers had huddled all around us, Snape toward the back and Lockhart all too close, ranting about how he could have saved her.

Merlin he made me uncomfortable; I shuddered at the scene before me, tapping my right foot on the stone floor.

"Like...who would do this? " muttered Lydia, appalled.

She obviously hadn't realized the connection of the message to us, and I stayed quiet, knowing this was not the place or time to tell them.

Marcus Flint called over all the Slytherins, rounding us all into the dungeons in a rush. We bumped into one another and stepped on each other's shoes, causing Lydia to hiss and shove people away. Finally Marcus had us all in a line of threes, marching us all down to the Common Room and calling over his shoulder that everything would be explained later by Professor Snape.

"It better be. This is pandemonium." Muttered Zabini behind us, between Crabbe and Goyle.

"What if the school closes?" Jean asked, biting her nails.

Millicent snorted and crossed her arms. "Over a stupid cat? Please."

"I happen to like cats, Millicent." Theo snapped.

Lydia jumped and clapped her hands, smiling. "Oh my Merlin, me too!" She giggled.

"But that was Filch's cat." A Third year piped in.

"Who cares about Filch." Said another Third.

We all filed into the Common Room, a few going to their dormitories, others going away to the tables where we do our usual school work and a handful staying in the middle of the Common Room where the couches were. The ones who stayed that I recognized were Jean, Millicent, Pansy, Theo, Zabini, us five, Miles Bletchley, our Keeper, Marcus and Felix. There was only a good amount of Third, Fourth, and Fifth years who's names I didn't know.

"You do know McGonagall was staring right at you five, right?" Felix asked, turning around and raising an eyebrow.

Lydia shifted her feet but stayed silent, lifting her nose in the air. Draco crossed his arms besides me and the boys copied him, rolling their eyes.

"Of course she was. She hates us." I told him, rolling my eyes.

"She can't hate you, Vanice. What's to hate?" Felix chuckled, shaking his hair.

"Plenty." I heard Pansy scoff.

Growling, I stepped on the back of her robe and caused her to fall backwards onto Lydia. Draco smirked and grabbed my arm, tugging for me to move aside and watch the fun unfold.

"Ew, what a cow!" Lydia laughed meanly, pushing her off and between the boys. Zabini had stepped out of the tangle in order to watch.

Crabbe immediately got the idea and pulled back down on her robe, keeping her off balance and smirking.

"Not me!" He snorted, shoving her to Goyle.

She went flying into Goyle's massive arms, making her squeal in either fright or anger. Other Slytherins had stopped to watch, laughing and pointing in amusement. Pansy wasn't a very liked Slytherin, though we never showed it to the other houses, as of course we are united as much as we can. Draco and I were trying to keep from being in the circle with Lydia, Crabbe and Goyle, not wanting to touch her and not wanting to end the fun. Felix was behind me, and I could hear him and another second year making bets on who would drop her first.

"Let go of me!" Pansy yelped, trying to grab onto the couch arms to right herself up.

Before Goyle could push her anymore, a deep bang made us all jump and freeze. There was only one person who could make loud entrances like that.

"What, is all this ruckus." Snape demanded, making his way though the crowd of students.

I smiled at him innocently and Draco shrugged his shoulders, smirking and scratching the back of his neck.

Behind him trailed Archidia, wearing an all black robe, stifling a grin as she saw Pansy in an awkward position to get away from Crabbe, Lydia and Goyle.

"Honestly, Parkinson. You shouldn't be dancing in the middle of this terrible event." Archidia scolded, knowing perfectly well this wasn't the case. She drawled on the word 'terrible' as if it was the complete opposite.

"But I wasn't-"

"Enough! All of you." Snape hissed, making his usual sneer. "I expect complete silence if I am to explain this evenings... event."

At this, mouths were immediately zipped shut and bodies stood still.

Lydia jumped onto a nearby couch, motioning for us to sit down besides her, while Felix pushed to reach a velvetish chair as his friends followed. Pansy shook herself off and was searching for Jean, who had seemed to begin to talk to her more and more. Crabbe and Goyle shuffled over, stood behind the couch and crossed their arms, looking attentive. I hooked my arm through Draco's and pulled him to the couch, sitting down and swinging my legs on his, leaning my back on the arm of the couch.

"Filch's cat is not dead, there has been no murder." Snape began, with some suspense. A few gasped and others raising an eyebrow, not realizing what this meant. He waited for this to sink in, and I heard Millicent grunt in impatience."She has been Petrified. It would take Dark Magic of the most advanced -"

"Lovely...it wasn't Potter." I mumbled sarcastically, and Pansy scoffed.

"Rubbish! He can't even faze a fly with the smallest of spells!"

"Parkinson." Snape snarled in warning. "Now, I had suggested to our Headmaster that, since Potter was not being entirely truthful, it might have been a good idea if he were deprived of certain privileges. I personally felt he should be taken off the Gryffindor Quidditch team until he is ready to be honest."

Felix and a few others cheered, but Draco stiffed. His grip on my hand tightened and I had to shake his arm softly to get him to calm down. He knew that it wasn't true, that McGonagall would never allow it. He was just angry. And so was Snape, from what we could tell.

"Professer Sprout recently managed to procure some Mandrakes. As soon as they have reached their full size, I will have a potion made that will revive that cat."

"Tell them what Lockhart said." Archidia giggled, but quickly silenced herself as he gave her a serious look.

At that, he stormed from the Common Room to his office, with an apologizing Archidia chasing after him.

"I bet Lockhart said something that made him angry." Crabbe mumbled, and we stared at him.

"You think so?" Draco asked sarcastically.

Everyone slowly began to disperse into their usual habits once the murmurs had resided, indicating that everyone was going to talk in more private groups about the incident. Just as us five were about to do.

"I hope you've all realized something." I said to them.

"It's weird," said Theo. "The whole thing's weird. What was that writing on the wall about? The Chamber Has Been Opened... What's that supposed to mean?"

As soon as those words left Theo's mouth, Draco, Crabbe, Lydia and Goyle let their jaws drop in complete realization.

"Duh, Theo!" Lydia squealed, jumping on him in a sort of hugging matter. "Totally forgot!"

Theo was shocked, then began to blush a light pink, staying stiff and widening his eyes.

"F-forgot what?"

Lydia shook her head and grabbed her notebook and quill. "Like, nevermind."

We followed her to me of the farthest tables in the Common Room, isolated from eavesdroppers and other Slytherins. I snatched a plate of sweets from a table of First years and bit into a chocolate fudge bar, savoring the sweetness. Quickly sitting down, Draco was the first to whisper the obvious statement we were all thinking.

"The Chamber of Secrets. We have to find it."

"We will. When the time calls for it. As soon as we get a sign that we're allowed to divulge into this, from either Snape, Archida or The Dark Lord, we will." Lydia said, and we stared at her, agape at her vocabulary.

"I can think, you know." She said, brushing her hair back nonchalantly.

For the next few days, the school could talk of little else but the attack on Mrs. Norris. Filch kept it fresh in everyone's minds by pacing around the spot where she had been attacked, as though he thought the attacker might return to finish the job. When Filch wasn't guarding the scene of the crime, he was skulking red-eyed through the corridors, lunging out at unsuspecting students and trying to put them in detention for things like "breathing loudly" and "looking too happy." Draco got one an afternoon after Quidditch practice, for apparently "disturbing the quiet he had maintained."

Snape excused him of course.

As soon as the game versus the Gryffindors ended, we were going to start investigating, knowing once again we were racing against Potter, Weasley and Granger to find out the truth.