Hey y'all! How's everyone doing? We're now back with another chapter which follows the aftermath of the finding the message on the wall! This chapter is the longest we've got in this story so far cause it covers quite a bit in order to get to where I want it to go in the next chapter. Note that there is a bunch of stuff I'm changing especially in regards to the Slytherin mythos in Chamber of Secrets just cause I have and will always continue to hate how Salazar Slytherin and the Slytherin house was portrayed canonically. Like, there is no way Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, and Rowena Ravenclaw would've put up with Salazar Slytherin's pureblood bullshit (cause that's not a mentality you can hide for long) while being friends with him and I fully stand by my head canon that the four founders were friends before they created Hogwarts. Anyways, I'll just let you guys jump into it and I hope y'all enjoy the chapter!
Like always, I enjoy any comments, except for those that are just full of negativity and not constructive at all. Just give me something to work with instead of just "It's bad." I also appreciate any positive constructive criticism since I'm always looking to improve my writing and storytelling capabilities.
Thanks for reading this story! Virtual hugs and cuddles to y'all.
Disclaimer: I still do not own anything except any OC's that may come up, any world building that has not yet been officially stated by the books or movies, and any plot points/structures that have not been used in the books or movies.
Warning: No beta, we die like Stingbulbs.
Chapter 7: Prank or Omen
XXXXXX
"What's going on here? What's going on?"
Filch shouted as he shoved and shouldered his way through the crowd with the professors following close behind him. He broke through the front and took in the scene before him. He clutched his face in horror when he saw Mrs. Norris hanging from the torch.
"Mrs. Norris! Mrs. Norris! What happened to you?" He wailed. Then his eyes fell onto Harry, Ron, and Hermione who were unfortunate enough to be standing right in the middle of the scene of the crime.
"You!" He screeched, "You three murdered Mrs. Norris! You've killed her! I'll kill you! I'll-"
"ARGUS!" Dumbledore's voice boomed.
A hush fell over the entire hallway as Dumbledore stepped through the crowd that parted like the red sea. He swept past the three students and swiftly detached Mrs. Norris from the torch bracket, giving her a brief examination and seeming to sigh in relief at whatever he found.
"Come with me Argus," Dumbledore said, "And you three as well, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger."
McGonagall moved to speak when Lockhart rudely stepped in front of her with an eager expression. She scowled and stepped back as her nose wrinkled from the strong scent of the lavender and rose perfume the other was wearing.
"My office is nearest, Headmaster," Lockhart said, "Just up those stairs. Please feel free to use it."
Dumbledore nodded tersely. "Thank you Gilderoy."
The now silent crowd of students parted again to let them all pass, watching the procession of professors, students, caretaker, and cat with wide eyes. Lockhart looked especially excited as he hurried after Dumbledore with McGonagall and Snape the only professors following closely behind.
Once the group disappeared up the nearby stairs, the students immediately resumed their whispering and muttering, only moving when the rest of the professors stepped in. The students reluctantly dispersed back to their respective common rooms, glancing back at the message on the wall with mixtures of fear, concern, and confusion.
For Seth, however, instead of following along like he should, he stood rooted in place.
He was struck by how familiar the hall was and not in the sense that he passed by it often familiar but something else. It was like a sense of deja vu but he couldn't tell from where. Maybe from his dream? But he wasn't a dream walker so there was no way right?
He felt conflicted because no matter how hard he tried to grasp the edges of his memories about his dreams, they just kept slipping away. They were now fading to a mere impression that he did dream but he couldn't discern anything about it other than it happened.
By the time he snapped out of his thoughts, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were making their way down the staircase from Lockhart's office. There were no professors or devastated caretakers in sight.
"Guys!"
They immediately looked to him and made their way over.
"So what was that all abou-"
Before he could finish his question, Harry grabbed ahold of him and dragged him along the hallway until they reached a classroom. Hermione checked to make sure it was empty and then ushered them all inside. She closed the door quietly behind them, blocking out the light of the hallway and leaving them in a dark, empty classroom.
She quickly pulled out her wand and whispered, "Lumos."
A bright light shone from her wand, illuminating their faces and revealing Seth's unimpressed expression.
"So mind telling me why you had to drag me here just to have a simple conversation?"
"Sorry Seth," Harry sheepishly apologized.
"It's okay," Seth said with a shake of his head, "Now, before I was rudely interrupted, what happened? I thought you guys were gonna go to the Deathday Party and slip up to the Great Hall before the feast was over."
Ron groaned as his stomach rumbled loudly at the mention of food. "Don't remind me. There wasn't anything we could eat at the party that wasn't already rotten and moldy and now I've missed the Halloween Feast."
Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "Ron's complaints aside, we did intend to follow through on that plan but…" She looked to Harry uncertainly who took that as his cue to speak up.
"I heard a voice…"
"You heard a voice," Seth repeated in confusion.
Harry nodded vigorously. "Yeah! The voice, the way it sounded, it made me feel so cold inside. And it said it was going to kill someone!"
"So you decided to follow it because of course a second year would somehow be able to stand a chance against someone who wants to kill," Seth flatly stated.
Hermione and Ron nodded in shared exasperation while Harry blushed in embarrassment. "Well it worked last year, didn't it?"
Everyone deadpanned at him.
"You fought the shade of You Know Who, not You Know Who himself," Ron said.
"And the shade was already dying since it had to possess Professor Quirrell just to survive," Hermione added.
"And no offense, but Quirrell looked like someone you could knock over and injure with a feather," Seth finished.
Harry burned a darker red. "Look, do you want to hear what happened or not?"
Seth raised his hands in surrender and Harry continued.
He told him about how they followed the voice up to the hallway with the message on the wall. They were only going to look around for a bit to see where the voice went and definitely weren't going to stick around for long when they saw Mrs. Norris hanging from the torch holder. But apparently, they got so lost in their thoughts and investigation that it wasn't until Ron's stomach growled and they could hear people coming down from the hall that they realized the feast was over. Then it was just a case of deer caught in the headlights once the horde of students arrived.
"So what did the professors do?" Seth asked.
"Nothing really," Ron said, "Filch was throwing all sorts of rude stuff about while Snape and McGonagall listened and Lockhart tried tossing his weight around, saying all sorts of stupid things."
Hermione frowned and gave him an irritated look. "He was just trying to help figure out the situation, Ron."
"That tosser made it sound like a bunch of second years cast a dark curse on Mrs. Norris and killed her!" Ron shot back with a scowl.
Hermione huffed and crossed her arms. "He was just trying to cross off all the possibilities."
Ron scoffed and shook his head. "Whatever."
"So what did happen to Mrs. Norris?" Seth asked, "I mean, she looked pretty dead to me but Dumbledore said she wasn't so…"
Harry shook his head. "No. Dumbledore said she was only petrified and for some reason, Snape managed to get us let go as a case of wrong place, wrong time."
Ron nodded vigorously at that. "It was mad, I tell you. I thought Snape would try to frame us for the whole thing but he just said there was no way we could pull off something like that even as a prank as second years. Can't believe I have to be thankful to that greasy bat."
"Would you rather he did try and frame us?" Hermione sarcastically asked.
"No," Ron said sullenly.
"Then you should stop complaining and be grateful that Snape is being nicer to the Gryffindors, even if it does seem strange," she firmly scolded.
Ron pouted at that but conceded nonetheless.
"So that's that then? The professors aren't gonna interrogate you more or stalk you to see if you really are the culprits or something?" Seth continued to prod.
"No," Hermione responded, "Professor Dumbledore said as long as we don't get into trouble again we'll be fine."
Seth snorted. "Better hope you didn't just jinx us, Hermione."
She rolled her eyes good-naturedly at him.
"Do you guys think I should've told the professors about the voice I heard?" Harry hesitantly asked.
"You mean you didn't?" Seth asked, surprised.
"No, it just…didn't seem like a good idea."
"Definitely not," Ron said without hesitation, "Hearing voices no one can hear isn't a good sign even in the wizarding world."
Seth nodded thoughtfully. "Makes sense. In the muggle world, you'd be considered crazy and paranoid before anyone even bothered to check if there actually was a real physical source."
"But you guys believe me, don't you?" Harry asked insistently, almost pleading.
"Of course we do, even if it is strange," Hermione firmly said, "We know you wouldn't lie to us, Harry."
He smiled gratefully at her. "Thanks Hermione."
"But you know what I think is strange, the message on the wall," she continued, "Even if it was a prank, it seemed too specific to not mean something especially given the way the professors acted. They seemed really shaken."
"I don't know about the professors but I agree about the message," Harry said, "What's the Chamber of Secrets and what does it mean that it's open?"
Ron crossed his arms in thought. "You know, that does sort of ring a bell but I'm not sure where exactly I might have heard it. Maybe from Bill or dad?"
"Also, what on earth's a squib?" Harry asked in confusion, "Filch kept tossing that word around like I was supposed to know what it meant."
Hermione and Seth shrugged since they didn't know either but Ron sniggered.
"Ron?"
Ron shook his head to gather himself. "Sorry, sorry, it's not funny really but since it's Filch who said it, a squib's someone who was born into a wizarding family but hasn't got any magic. Kind of the opposite of muggleborn wizards but but squibs are pretty rare and unusual," he explained with a snort of amusement, "But it explains a lot now doesn't it? Why he hates students so much?" He couldn't help but guffaw. "He's bitter!"
A clock chimed somewhere, announcing to them all that it was now midnight.
"So can we go back to the common room now?" Ron asked with a whine, "I'm starving and I know I stashed some pumpkin pastries in my trunk."
On cue, his stomach growled and everyone laughed. But they agreed to head back before they got caught out of bed and tossed into detention after narrowly escaping it the same night.
XXXXXX
In the following days after, the attack on Mrs. Norris was kept fresh on everyone's minds since Filch would constantly pace around the spot where she'd been attacked most likely believing the attacker would come back despite the fact that the wall was in a hallway that was frequently full of student traffic. When he wasn't guarding the scene of the crime, he'd be sulking around the surrounding corridors and grabbing at unsuspecting students for inane reasons such as breathing too loudly or looking happy.
The student body was split between their reactions to the entire situation. Half thought good riddance since the cat was one of the menaces of the castle they could do without and the other half were unnerved, wondering who or what could've done all that to the cat.
"Well I agree with the good riddance camp," Seth said, "He and Mrs. Norris deserve a little comeuppance for all the shit they put everyone through."
"Seth!" Hermione cried out, scandalized.
"What? Did I say something wrong?"
Harry and Ron understandably nodded along with him.
"Those two make everyone's lives miserable here," Ron said, "Don't tell me you actually feel sorry for them?"
Hermione looked like she was going to lecture him when she thought about it for a moment and hesitated. "Well, no…I don't care for Filch but isn't it a bit much to involve pets?"
The boys all deadpanned at her.
"Hermione, I know you like cats, but can you seriously tell me you like Mrs. Norris?" Seth asked her flatly.
She fidgeted as she responded, "Well I really do love cats but…I suppose there are always exceptions to everything."
Seth nodded in approval. "Right. Besides, I was just saying what everyone was thinking."
Harry and Ron nodded again.
"That may be true but you didn't need to sound so callous about it," Hermione lightly scolded, "Honestly, there are better ways to talk about what happened to Mrs. Norris you know."
Seth raised a disbelieving eyebrow to her. "There are other ways to talk about a cat that made everyone miserable being petrified and hung on a torch bracket like a dead weight?"
"When you put it that way…" she sighed and conceded, "Alright, never mind."
"Cool. Now can I see your herbology notes? I think I might've misspelled some of the plants from last lesson."
The Chamber of Secrets also became a frequent topic of discussion as the message on the wall was still there despite the professors' best efforts to remove it through both magical and non-magical means. Practically the entire student body dug deep to find their inner detective and search for clues about it.
Hermione in particular was struck with the investigation bug. While everyone knew she frequently spent her free time reading, it now seemed like she did nothing but that as she was always spotted with her head buried in one old book or another, searching for any mention of the elusive Chamber of Secrets. She was also very insistent that the boys helped her in her quest for even a tidbit of information.
Which was why Harry and Seth were speeding through the halls towards the library like bats out of hell. They were both held back because Harry accidentally made their cauldron explode during potions class and Snape made them stay to clean up the mess.
The pair soon arrived at the doors of the library just as Justin Finch Fletchley was walking out. Justin perked up at the sight of Harry and opened his mouth to call out when he spotted Seth. He immediately clamped his mouth shut and ran down the opposite way the two were coming from.
Harry was taken aback while Seth watched with a smug feeling curling warmly in his chest. He blinked and touched his chest in confusion before shaking it off and blaming the pepper up potions they had to make in potions class.
"What was that all about?" Harry asked in confusion.
Seth shrugged nonchalantly. "Dunno. Maybe he really needed to go to the bathroom. Now come on. Let's go find Hermione before she skins us alive for being 'late'."
Harry shuddered at the thought and rushed inside the library with Seth following closely behind. The two wandered around until they spotted Ron near the back measuring his history of magic homework.
"Can't believe it," he said with a scowl, "I'm still eight inches short of three feet." He threw his tape measure down in disgust. "Hermione's done four feet seven inches and her writing's tiny!"
"Where is she by the way?" Harry asked as they walked up to the table.
"Somewhere over there," Ron answered, gesturing vaguely towards the surrounding shelves, "She's looking for another book."
Seth looked at the stacks of books already cluttering most of the table with only a small space left for Ron to do his homework. "She's already got her own library going here, what does she need another book for?"
Ron shrugged. "Beats me. Anyone willing to give me their history of magic essay?"
"Sure but just know that I barely got it to three feet," Harry agreed, pulling his essay out of his bag and handing it over to Ron who eagerly grabbed it.
"Class is in 10 minutes. I'll take anything at this rate."
Harry and Seth settled down as Ron started writing in as big a font as possible. While he was doing so, Harry mentioned the odd encounter with Justin.
"Dunno why you care so much about him. He's an idiot anyways, believing all that rot from Lockhart," Ron remarked.
"Sure but it was just…strange."
"That might've been my fault," Seth sheepishly admitted.
Harry and Ron turned to look at him in confusion.
"How?"
"I got annoyed at him talking my ear off about Lockhart while I was trying to work on homework," Seth explained, "Eventually I had enough and snapped at him to knock it off or I'll knock him out."
"Wow," Harry said in surprise, "Were you always this violent?"
Ron nodded in agreement. "While I'm all for boxing an annoying git's ears, that's a bit much isn't it?"
Seth rolled his eyes. "I wasn't actually going to hit him. I just wanted him to shut up. He kept going on and on about how Lockhart already knew everything about the Chamber of Secrets and was just waiting for the right moment to reveal everything in his next book." Then he said in a mocking imitation of Justin, "Do you think he'll let me have an advanced signed copy for Christmas?"
Harry snorted in amusement and Ron shook his head.
"Never mind then. By all means, you can box his ears all you want. I know I would if I had to listen to that rot."
"Right? I hate people like him who fawn over others and believe their words to be gospel instead of thinking for themselves and taking actions into account," Seth said with a scowl.
At that moment, Hermione finally appeared, emerging from the shelves looking irritable and with another stack of books that she placed on the table that was now more book than table.
"All the copies of Hogwarts, A History have been taken out," she angrily remarked as she sat down next to the boys, "There's a two week waiting list. I wish I hadn't left my copy at home but I couldn't fit it in my trunk with all of Professor Lockhart's books."
"I brought my copy so you can borrow it," Seth offered.
Instead of being happy, she only grew angrier. "Well why didn't you tell me that! Then I wouldn't have wasted so much time searching!" She snapped at him.
Seth scowled in irritation at the irrational anger. "Well maybe if you told us earlier that you needed it, then I could've told you."
Harry quickly intervened before an argument could break out. "Why do you need it anyways?"
"Same reason everyone else wants it, to read up on the legend of the Chamber of Secrets. It has to be in that book somewhere," Hermione stated as if it were obvious.
"But if that's true, then how come everyone's still searching?" Harry pointed out.
She scowled. "I don't know. That's why I need that book."
Harry was taken aback by her hostility while Ron was still rushing through his essay. Seth rolled his eyes at her.
"Why are you so gung-ho about this? For all we know, this whole thing could just be a prank to mess with everyone."
"While that may be true, the way the professors reacted seems to say otherwise," Hermione rebuked, "They reacted rather strangely to the message on the wall."
"Or maybe they were reacting to the fact that there was a cat that looked dead hanging off a torch bracket, ever thought of that?" Seth countered.
She frowned. "You didn't see how the professors reacted when they pulled us aside Seth. They have to know something about the Chamber of Secrets."
"Or alternate theory, they do know something only cause Hogwarts is old as hell so there's bound to be a bunch of secret chambers that were once a part of the original foundation or added later only for time and more construction and expansion to cover them up and now they think someone's trying to prank the school with that knowledge," he retorted without missing a beat.
She crossed her arms and sniffed haughtily. "That can't be it. There is no way your theory is correct. It's just too simple."
Having enough, Seth scowled and snapped angrily at her, "Well why can't I be right? Why do you always have to be right? For someone who claims to be smart, you sure can be narrow minded and stuck in your ways. How about you get your head out of your books and go touch some grass?"
Hermione was taken aback by his outburst. Harry was too and even Ron looked up from his frantic writing to look at Seth in surprise.
Seth seemed to realize he'd overstepped and sighed. He pinched his nose as a headache began to grow. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you, Hermione."
"It's fine Seth," she said tentatively, "I was being unreasonable and shouldn't have rudely dismissed your opinion to begin with."
"Still, that's no excuse to get mad at you like that."
"Really, it's fine but…are you alright?"
Seth barked out a sharp laugh that made everyone concerned. "If I got a knut for every time I was asked that, I'd have enough to exchange for a good handful of galleons." He sighed and waved off her concern. "I'm fine, I think. I got some good sleep on Halloween but after that, I just can't seem to feel well-rested even when I go to bed at a decent time."
"Really?" Hermione asked skeptically.
"It's true," Harry said, jumping in, "Ron and I started checking in on him before we go to bed and he's always fast asleep."
"Not even a flinch that one time I poked his face too, just dead to the world," Ron added as he finished his essay with a flourish, "And done! Finally! Three feet complete!"
Harry gave a small clap of congratulations for Ron managing to complete his homework at the eleventh hour.
Hermione still looked at Seth in concern. "Maybe you should visit Madame Pomfrey later for some sleep aid potions. It can't be good for your health especially when you've become this irritable after only a few days of unrestful sleep."
Seth hummed non-committedly. "Sure, whatever you say," he agreed even though he had no plans on actually following through and she looked at him in disapproval.
Just then, the bell rang and the quartet left the library for their next class in uneasy silence with concerned glances exchanged amongst Harry, Hermione, and Ron.
XXXXXX
History of magic class was the same as usual. Professor Binns opened his notes and read them in a flat drone that sent nearly everyone off to dreamland immediately, only occasionally coming back to the waking world long enough to write down a name or date before returning again.
Hermione frowned as she flipped through one of the books she borrowed for her research. She looked like she was one step away from setting it on fire for how unhelpful it was. Seth looked between her and Professor Binns and suddenly got a brilliant idea. He nudged her and she looked at him sharply.
"What?" She quietly hissed.
"You look like you're about to set that book on fire with how much you've been glaring at it," he whispered back.
She frowned and closed the book in question with a quiet thud. "I thought it would be helpful which is why I borrowed it in the first place. But it's just another rubbish history book."
"Then why don't you ask someone who knows history?" He suggested.
She gave him a strange look and he rolled his eyes. "I mean why don't you go ask Professor Binns?"
Now she looked at him like he'd lost his mind. "Ask Professor Binns? Are you serious?"
He shrugged. "Can't hurt to try right? He's a ghost which means he's been here longer than any other Hogwarts professor and he teaches history so he might've heard something about the chamber."
And now she looked thoughtful. "You do have a point…"
"Great! Now go ahead, raise your hand, and lets hope ghosts can't get heart attacks."
She frowned in disapproval. "I don't think Binns will be that surprised if I raise my hand, Seth."
He just smiled at her as she raised her hand just as Professor Binns looked up from his notes. The professor immediately looked at her hand in slack jawed amazement.
"You were saying?" Seth whispered with a smirk.
Hermione rolled her eyes and huffed in amusement.
Binns cleared his throat and said, "Miss er…"
"Granger, professor," Hermione helpfully supplied.
"Yes, Miss Granger."
She put her hand down and carefully asked, "Professor, I was wondering if you could tell us anything about the Chamber of Secrets?"
Immediately, everyone woke up from whatever dream they were in and snapped to attention. Dean, who'd been sitting with his mouth hanging open gazing out the window, jerked out of his trance. Lavender's head came up off her arms with a snap and Neville's elbow slipped off his desk. Parvati was unfortunately snapped out of her daze when Seamus accidentally jerked awake with his wand in his hand and set the sleeve of her robe on fire. She quickly put it out and glared at the sheepishly apologizing Seamus.
Meanwhile, Professors Binns blinked, looking utterly bewildered by Hermione's question. "The Chamber of Secrets? This is Hogwarts, Miss Granger. There are many 'secret chambers' strewn about its vast halls. This castle has centuries of history and has gone through many expansions, thus much of its original foundation has been buried or lost to time. You will need to specify what 'secret chamber' you are speaking of."
Seth smiled smugly at Hermione when the professor unintentionally proved the point he tried to make in the library and she scowled at him before returning her focus to Binns.
"I'm asking about the Chamber of Secrets that was mentioned in the message that was found on Halloween. The one that warned 'enemies of the heir' to beware," she clarified.
Binns scowled which was a reaction nobody expected him to have. "Ah…that chamber. It is just a myth and given my subject is history of magic, Miss Granger, that means I deal with facts not myths." He cleared his throat and continued with his previously interrupted lecture but stuttered to a halt when Hermione raised her hand again and waved it about in the air for good measure.
"Yes, Miss Granger?"
"Please sir, don't myths always have a basis in fact? Else how can they spread the way they do?"
Binns looked at her completely baffled, most likely because no student had ever interrupted him before, alive or dead. "Well, yes, one could argue that I suppose," he said, slowly and hesitantly, "But the myth of which you speak is such a sensational and ludicrous tale that began from a rather vicious rumor," he finished in an effort to deter her and return to his regularly scheduled lecture.
But the entire class was now hanging on to his every word and it completely threw him off since he'd never seen such an unusual show of interest. Eventually, he sighed and put his notes down.
"Oh very well, let me see…the Chamber of Secrets…"
He took a moment to gather his thoughts and everyone leaned forward in anticipation.
"You all know of course that Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago, the precise date is uncertain, by the four greatest witches and wizards of the age. The four school houses were named after them - Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. They built the foundation of this castle together far from prying muggle eyes, for it was also an age when magic was feared by common people and witches and wizards suffered much persecution."
He paused, gazing blearily at the wide-awake and attentive faces of the students before continuing.
"For many years, the founders worked in harmony together, seeking out youngsters who showed signs of magic and bringing them to the castle to be educated. But then the disagreements started. A rift began to form between Slytherin and the others for Slytherin wished to be more selective about the students admitted to Hogwarts. He believed that only students from all magic families could be trusted as again, this was an age of persecution against magic. It was already a risk for them to retrieve students from families that previously showed no signs of magic."
"It was a point of contention as Slytherin wished to protect the world of magic and allow no newcomers at the risk of endangering them all while the others wished to protect all who had magic especially because they knew muggleborn children would be persecuted for something they couldn't control. Eventually, it led to serious arguments on the subject between Slytherin and Gryffindor, leading Slytherin to leave the school."
Binns paused and pursed his lips, looking like a wrinkled old tortoise.
"Reliable historical sources tell us this much but these honest facts were obscured by rumors that were spread about what Slytherin truly meant by barring non-pureblooded wizards and witches from attending Hogwarts. They tell of how he loathed those who were not of pureblood being taught the art of magic and because of that loathing, he built a secret chamber in the castle that none of the founders knew about."
"They say that he sealed this Chamber of Secrets so that none would be able to open it until his true heir arrived at the school and only the heir alone would be able to unseal the chamber and unleash the horror within to purge the school of all who were unworthy to study magic."
There was a silence as he finished telling the tale but it wasn't the usual sleepy silence that filled the classroom but one of unease as everyone continued to watch him, hoping for more. Binns' brow furrowed in annoyance.
"The whole thing is utter nonsense of course. The disagreement between Slytherin and Gryffindor was resolved, though how exactly is unknown besides the fact that Gryffindor was the one to extend the olive branch first, and he returned to the school only to pass away shortly after. In addition, the story of the Chamber of Secrets only appeared after all of the founders passed away and the divide between purebloods and non was deeply entrenched in wizarding society."
"It is highly theorized that this tale came about in order to discredit Slytherin due to the fame his house received from producing powerful witches and wizards, such as the infamous Merlin, and how many who pursed alternative methods of magic, mainly those of the dark arts, were Slytherins."
Everyone fidgeted uncomfortably, knowing exactly what he was talking about considering how the divide between Slytherin house and everyone else had been evident until the barriers between houses began to break just last year.
"Thus, in conclusion, the Chamber of Secrets is just a story spread to discredit a legendary wizard and create a divide amongst houses that still exists to this day and that is that."
But everyone was still uneasy and Hermione raised her hand in the air again.
"Sir, I know you emphasize that the Chamber of Secrets is just a fanciful tale but I was hoping you could still elaborate what you meant by a horror within the chamber?"
Binns gave a long-suffering sigh but answered anyway. "It is believed that the horror is some sort of monster which only the heir of Slytherin alone could control."
The students all exchanged nervous looks, except for Seth whose expression was strangely blank.
Binns picked up his notes and shuffled them. "Now let us resume the lesson."
But the class would not let him do so.
"But sir, how do we know for sure that the chamber's just a tale?' Seamus asked.
"Nonsense," Binns scoffed, "The school has been searched from top to bottom multiple times over the centuries by a long succession of Hogwarts headmasters and professors and they have found no sign of such a chamber. Thus it does not exist."
"But professor, Hogwarts is ancient," Parvati pointed out, "What if the chamber was built but expansions and such have hidden it from access by normal or magical means? What if it needs dark magic to be found and opened?"
"Just because a wizard or witch does not use dark magic, does not mean that they can't," Binns retorted in an aggravated tone, "If the likes of headmasters like Dumbledore-"
"But maybe you've got to be directly related to Slytherin so Professor Dumbledore couldn't," Dean interrupted.
Binn's ghostly face darkened and he snapped, "Slytherin passed before he could produce any heirs, now-"
"But what about someone from Slytherin's family?" Lavender interjected, "Like a sibling or a cousin or-"
But Binns finally had enough. "That will do!" He sharply said, making everyone shut their mouths and swallow their questions, "The Chamber of Secrets is a myth, a rumor! There is not a shred of evidence that Slytherin ever built so much as a secret broom cupboard! I regret telling you such a foolish tale. We will return, if you please, to history, to solid believable, verifiable fact!"
And only a few minutes later, the class fell into a stupor again.
XXXXXX
The quartet wandered down the hall still in a bit of a daze as they processed everything they'd just learned in history of magic.
"I always thought Salazar Slytherin was a twisted old loony but I never thought all that pure blood rot started because someone didn't like how he chose his students so they spread nasty rumors after he died," Ron thoughtfully remarked.
"Right?" Hermione agreed, "In almost every book he's mentioned in, the authors present him as some foul pureblood supremacist. Rarely is he ever shown in a good light. In fact, I believe Hogwarts A History is one of the handful of books that speak of him and the other founders in an objective manner."
"Just goes to show you can't always trust what you read or hear," Seth nodded sagely.
"I always thought you couldn't pay me to be put in Slytherin but, and as much as it hurts me to say this, after spending time with Malfoy, they aren't so bad those snakes," Ron said.
Seth nudged him knowingly. "Which is literally what I've been telling you all since the first day of first year. All that house divide bullshit is just that, bullshit."
Ron rolled his eyes and nudged Seth away. "Yeah, yeah, I know, I know."
"Still, that's centuries upon centuries of having such a fixed view on a specific group of people. It won't be easy for Slytherin to get rid of the stigma against them, especially now with what happened on Halloween," Hermione pointed out.
"Yeah but even still, I know Professor Binns said the whole thing was hogwash but don't rumors usually have to start from somewhere and then need a bit of truth to be able to stick around for so long?" Harry asked.
Hermione nodded. "That is true. After all, the details regarding the Chamber of Secrets seem a bit too exact to just be something that was spread in order to ruin someone's reputation and cause discord."
"But if that's the case, then where's the chamber? What's inside of it? Who's the heir? And how, if at all, does it connect to Salazar Slytherin?" Seth asked.
The quartet pondered those questions as they pushed their way through the congested flow of students when Colin Creevy suddenly appeared beside them.
"Hiya guys!"
"Hi Colin," everyone automatically said as if they were already used to Colin just randomly popping up wherever they happened to be.
"A boy in my class had been saying that you four were amazing at-"
But whatever Colin was trying to say was cut off as he got caught in the tide of people pushing him towards the Great Hall.
"See you later!" He managed to chirp before he disappeared into the sea of students.
"What's a boy in his class saying about us?" Hermione wondered aloud.
Seth shrugged. "Probably about how we got involved in the whole sorcerer's stone debacle last year. Bet they think we'll be able to solve this Chamber of Secrets business because of that."
"But we were literally flying by the seat of our pants the entire time!" Harry exclaimed in disbelief.
"And we don't even know if the chamber is real or not as opposed to the sorcerer's stone which was just a well hidden secret," Hermione added.
"First years are just weird like that," Ron stated matter of fact.
"We were first years just last year!" Hermione cried out, not knowing whether to feel offended or not.
Ron nodded as if that made his point. "Like I said, first years are weird."
Soon the crowd thinned and the quartet was able to climb onto a nearby staircase without difficulty.
"So are we going to do something about it?" Ron asked when they reached the end of the stairs.
"About what?" Hermione asked.
"The Chamber of Secrets."
She looked uneasy. "I don't know Ron. It was one thing to figure out the truth behind the myth and another to get involved in whatever caused the attack on Mrs. Norris and wrote that message."
"Whatever? You mean you think something and not someone attacked that cat?" Harry couldn't help but notice her interesting choice of words.
"Well Professor Dumbledore hasn't been able to cure her yet so that must mean whatever attacked Mrs. Norris wasn't something of conventional or possibly human standards," she explained.
Seth hummed thoughtfully as if agreeing with her observation. Ron and Harry nodded along in understanding.
Just then, they turned a corner and realized they were in the corridor where the attack occurred. They stopped and looked at the scene of the crime which was still in the exact same state it was in that night except there was no longer a cat hanging from the torch and there was an empty chair against the wall, most likely the one Filch had been using to keep guard.
"Looks like Filch isn't here," Ron stated.
The quartet exchanged looks and came to a silent understanding. Then they looked around the corridor for any signs of life only to find it was surprisingly deserted for once.
"Soooo, are we gonna or not?" Seth casually asked.
"Can't hurt to have a quick poke around while nobody's here," Harry agreed.
Then he dropped his bag and started crawling around on his hands and knees to search for clues. Ron exchanged amused glances with Seth while Hermione shook her head in exasperation. Then she noticed something strange out of the corner of her eye and turned to look at it.
"Come look at this," she said, pointing it out.
Seth went to follow her, not noticing Ron freeze in place. Harry got up from the floor and joined the two as they observed a long trail of spiders scuttling about and apparently fighting each other to get through a small hole in a nearby window.
"Have you ever seen spiders act like that?" Hermione asked curiously.
Harry shook his head and Seth said, "No. They all look like they're trying to escape something which, even for Hogwarts, is a little weird and disturbing."
"Hey Ron, do you know-" Harry started to ask only to cut himself off.
The three of them looked over to Ron who was now standing as far as he possibly could from the window and seemed to be visibly fighting the urge to flee.
"What's wrong with you?" Harry asked.
"I don't like spiders," Ron responded in a strained manner.
"Really?" Hermione couldn't help but be surprised, "But you've used spiders in potions loads of times."
"I don't mind them dead. I just don't like the way they move," Ron explained, "When I was three, Fred turned my teddy bear into a great big filthy spider because I broke his toy broomstick. One minute I was holding a soft plush toy and the next it suddenly had too many legs and-" He broke off with a shudder.
Harry, Hermione, and Seth shuddered with him in sympathy.
"Say, do you remember all that water that was on the floor?" Harry asked as a thought came to him.
Hermione nodded. "It looks like someone's mopped it up though. I wonder where it all came from?"
"I think it was about here," Ron said, recovering enough to walk a few paces past Filch's chair and pointed at a nearby door with a large 'Out of Order' sign plastered on it.
Seth had a strange feeling of deja vu as they walked over, like he'd been here before, specifically to go to that door. But he brushed it off as simply just walking down this hallway so many times without paying attention that only now that he was paying attention did it feel strange.
Ron went to open the door but suddenly withdrew his hand as though he'd been burned.
"What's up with you?" Seth asked.
Ron shook his head. "Can't go in there. That's a girl's bathroom."
"Guess that ends our investigation then," Harry said with a sigh.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "You three don't need to worry, there won't be anyone in there. This one's Moaning Myrtle's place. Now come on, let's have a look," she said as she opened the door and ushered the boys in.
Once inside, they were treated to the sight of the gloomiest and most depressing bathroom Seth's ever seen (and considering he'd been to high school and plenty of public bathrooms, that was saying something). All the mirrors were cracked and spotted, the sinks were dirty and chipped, the floor was damp enough for moss to start growing in the corners, the wooden doors of the stalls were flaked and scratched, and the only source of light were the stubs of candles burning low in their holders. The only silver lining to the absolute mess of a bathroom was that it didn't stink. There was only a faint damp smell, mostly likely coming from the moss.
Hermione put her finger to her lips and carefully walked over to the stall at the end. When she reached it, she cautiously knocked on the door. "Hello Myrtle. How are you?"
For a moment, no one responded and nothing happened.
Then the stall door slowly creaked open to reveal the ghost of a teenage girl, still in the transition phase of puberty before she unfortunately passed away, floating above the toilet. "What do you want?" Myrtle mindlessly asked.
Then she spotted the boys and narrowed her eyes at them suspiciously. "This is a girl's bathroom and they're not girls."
Hermione quickly responded, "No, I just…wanted to show them how, er, nice it is in here." She waved vaguely at the dirty and broken interior.
Ron looked at her strangely and Seth shook his head at Hermione's continued inability to lie. Harry nudged her to get on with it already and she nudged him back with a frown.
"What are you two conspiring about?" Myrtle sharply asked, having noticed the interaction.
Harry and Hermione jumped at the sudden call out.
"Nothing!" Harry blurted out, "We, um, just wanted to ask-"
Myrtle suddenly burst into tears, startling everyone. "I wish people would stop acting like I'm not here. I do have feelings, you know, even if I am dead."
Hermione quickly stepped in and attempted to soothe her. "No one wants to upset you here, Myrtle. We only-"
"No one wants to upset me? That's a good one!" Myrtle howled, "My life was nothing but misery in this place and now people come along ruining my death!"
Before Hermione or Harry could respond and make the situation worse, Seth quickly interjected. "Yeah, people can be pretty rude, can't they? Always talking like they know everything about everyone with a big attitude and a big head like they're trying to compensate for something."
Harry and Ron were surprised by his intervention. Hermione looked like she thought Seth was going to be the one to ruin the situation and was about to speak when Myrtle stopped crying and perked up as she looked at Seth.
"Right? Those people, especially girls, always act like they're the royalty of the castle and people like me are just lowly peasants who shouldn't be seen or heard," Myrtle eagerly agreed.
Seth nodded with an understanding that came from surviving the American school system. "Oh yeah, I totally get ya. Kids can really be the cruelest people sometimes."
Myrtle gave a small smile and sniffed.
"Anyways, I can see we caught you at a bad time and we don't want to make you feel worse so we can just go now," Seth said sympathetically.
Hermione went to object but no words came out when Myrtle wiped the ghostly tears from her eyes and shook her head.
"No, no, I shouldn't have been so quick to react," she apologized, "Unfortunately, I died when I was still going through puberty so my emotions are always such a mess."
Harry, Ron, and Hermione were completely astonished by what was happening and just gaped in shock.
"Eh, it's all good. Completely understandable really," Seth said, waving her apology away.
Myrtle giggled which made the bystanders' eyes bulge. "Thank you. So why are you all here?"
"We wanted to ask if you knew anything about what happened on Halloween considering the incident happened only feet away from your front door," he responded.
She frowned. "Oh yes, that." She shrugged helplessly. "I don't know if I can help. I wasn't even here see. Nearly Headless Nick invited me to his Deathday party so I was there all night moping in a corner with the Grey Lady. Nick's the only one who still tries to talk to me, you know, well him and the Fat Friar. Those two are probably the only reasons why I'm not always moping about."
Seth nodded understandingly. "Yeah, it's always good to have people you can rely on in life and in death."
Myrtle gave a small nod and smiled. "Was there anything else?"
He shook his head and she drooped with sadness. "Sorry I couldn't be of more help."
"It's all good really. It was a long shot anyways. We'll be going now."
"Will I see you again?" She asked hopefully.
He shrugged. "Dunno since this is the girl's bathroom and all. But if you ever do pop outta here, I'm always up for a good moping session."
Myrtle smiled and nodded. "See you around then." She rose up into the air and turned over to dive headfirst into the toilet.
Seth sighed and shook his head. "There goes our one good lead." Then he finally realized that the others had been silently gaping at him in wide-eyed shock. "What?"
"How…" Hermione began, then she shook her head, grabbed him by the shoulders, and shook him as she demanded, "How did you manage to get a whole conversation out of her? All she ever does is mope about and cry and accuse others of bullying her even if they're not!"
Seth pushed her hands off of him and shrugged. "Wasn't that hard."
"What do you mean it wasn't hard?!"
He looked at her like it should be obvious. "You forget that I have a sister who went through puberty and American high school so I know all about how to handle mood swings and insecurities. Plus, you heard her, she died before finishing puberty so no wonder her emotions are constantly a mess."
"I…I suppose you're right but still…" Hermione reluctantly accepted his answer and cleared her throat. "Anyways, we should leave before people start walking by."
"Good idea," Harry eagerly said, "Let's go."
They all made their way out of the bathroom and Harry had just barely closed the door behind them when a loud authoritative voice made them all jump.
"RON!"
They whirled around to see Percy had stopped dead only a few feet away from them with an expression of absolute shock on his face.
"That's a girl's bathroom!" He cried out, completely scandalized at having caught his youngest brother doing something highly inappropriate, context be damned, "What were you all doing in there?!"
Ron scowled and crossed his arms defensively. "What's it to you? Not like there were any girls in there anyways cause it's Moaning Myrtle's bathroom."
Percy grew red with indignation. "And?! Boys are not allowed in girl's bathrooms regardless if it's a ghost's or not!"
Harry quickly stepped in to intervene before the whole thing could explode. "Wait Percy. We just thought it'd be a good time to look around for clues you know."
But that didn't help at all and only made Percy slowly turn a darker shade of red. "That doesn't make it any better! Do you not care how this looks?! Coming back here while no one else is around! What if someone else had come across you like a professor?!"
Ron glared at him and said hotly, "We never wrote that message and we never touched that stupid cat!"
Percy swelled in a manner that reminded Harry and Seth of an angry Mrs. Weasley. Seth decided it was time he stepped in to remedy the situation before it could go even further south.
"Okay, so I know this looks bad…"
"You think?!"
"But trust me when I say we have a really good reason for being here."
Percy raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Oh really?"
Seth nodded and did a dramatic pause to build suspense.
"We're super nosy!" He proudly declared.
Hermione face palmed hard. Harry and Ron didn't know whether they should do the same or be curious about where Seth could be going with this.
Percy gaped. "Excuse me?"
Seth quickly held a hand up before he could say anything else. "Now hold on, let me explain. So you know how we basically got involved and resolved that whole mess with Quirrell last year right?"
Percy nodded slowly.
"Well that's cause we were nosy and curious and couldn't leave well enough alone and now there's a rumor spreading around that we're gonna do a repeat of what happened last year this year so of course we can't disappoint the expectations of our fellow students. Plus we were already curious about this whole Chamber of Secrets business so we're killing two birds with one stone!"
Ron and Harry gave up and joined Hermione in face palming.
Percy was still not buying what Seth was selling. "Be that as it may, that still does not give you the right to be in a girl's bathroom."
Seth rolled his eyes and raised a disbelieving eyebrow at the prefect. "Oh come on. You can't tell me you weren't even a little bit nosy at 12."
Then Percy blushed in embarrassment, making Ron astonished by the sight. "That's…"
Seth took a few steps forward and spoke in a hushed voice so only Percy could hear him. "Also, I'm pretty sure this hallway isn't on your prefect patrol route. Tsk tsk Percy. What would the professors have to say about a prefect not performing their duties properly?"
Percy gaped at him, mouth opening and closing like a fish until finally, he cleared his throat and straightened his pristine and pressed uniform. "Very well then. I suppose I will let you off with a warning and a promise of no more detective work."
"Of course!" Seth said, stepping back with a brilliant, mischievous grin, "At the very least, I can promise we won't get caught."
Percy's expression pinched and he looked like he wanted to yell or shout or do something drastic like give them all detention but ultimately decided not to. "You are on thin ice now, Sorenson, poor health or not. You better keep your promise or else," he warned with a scowl.
Then he turned away, the back of his neck as red as his hair, and stormed off.
Seth sighed in relief. "Can't believe that worked."
Then he turned around and realized the trio had been staring at him with wide eyes as if they'd never seen him before. "What?"
"What was all that?" Harry cried out.
"And can you teach it to me because whatever it was, it was bloody brilliant!" Ron said with a laugh, "I've never seen Percy speechless like that and you managed to get him to leave us alone without punishing us too!"
"Ron! Harry!" Hermione scolded with a disappointed frown.
"What? You can't tell me that wasn't fascinating to watch," Ron retorted.
"Well…I suppose it was," she reluctantly admitted, "And surprising too." She turned to Seth. "I didn't know you had a silver tongue."
"What's that?" Ron asked.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "It means that Seth can speak in a very charming and persuasive manner."
Ron nodded as he silently 'oh'-ed to himself.
"Hermione's right, it was surprising. No offense Seth but you don't really look or act like someone who can charm people left and right," Harry added.
Seth shrugged, feeling a little unnerved now because yeah, he wasn't the kind of person to try and sweet talk or get on someone's level like that. "Eh, what can I say? I got layers, like an onion."
Harry and Ron snorted in amusement and Hermione shook her head with a fond, exasperated smile.
"Seth's unexpected charm aside, Percy is right, we need to be careful," Hermione cautioned, "What would people think if they caught us here?"
"That we're investigating the Chamber of Secrets if Seth's right about that rumor," Harry responded.
"Besides, weren't you the one who was so gung-ho on finding out more about it?" Seth jokingly asked.
Hermione blushed in embarrassment. "That's! I!" She groaned and threw her hands up in surrender. "Oh forget it. Let's go before more people come by."
Ron nodded eagerly. "Yeah. I know Percy said he wouldn't punish us but I don't want to stick around if he's decided to change his mind."
The quartet booked it out of the hallway but as they left, Seth glanced back over his shoulder at the bathroom door with an indecipherable expression before turning away to catch up with the others.
XXXXXX
Then I pulled a cursed nail out of a tree and bada bing bada boom, I became a shadow charmer a few months after the fact.
Seth wrote the last word with a flourish of his pen. He just finished regaling Tom with an overly long description of some of his earlier adventures on Fablehaven, specifically the one that led to him becoming a shadow charmer.
Fascinating. And given what you've told me about your sister, this must have been the start of the divide and comparison between the two of you.
Seth hummed since now that he thought about it, yeah, that's right. Once he became a shadow charmer and his sister fairy kind, they were constantly butting heads and being overly critical about the ways in which they did things. But he knew that his critique came from a place of not letting his sister die again, fake or not, and hers came from the bias and prejudice that was part of the shadow charmer territory. Even the others ended up siding with Kendra more often than they did with him and the reminder of that kind of stung.
Yeah, I guess you're right about that…
Of course I am. But I have a feeling your mind is beginning to drift from our current conversation to something else.
Seth shook his head, impressed rather than unnerved by Tom's ability to discern how he was feeling and what he was thinking. So you could tell huh?
Writing three punctuation marks in the form of periods is usually an indication of trailing thoughts. Please do not forget that you are free to write down whatever is on your mind even if I am unable to help or respond accordingly.
He nodded even though the notebook wouldn't be able to see him do so. He decided to bite the bullet cause what could it hurt. Maybe 1943 was just in the right time period for Tom to potentially know something.
So I know this is probably a long shot but do you happen to know anything about a Chamber of Secrets?
He watched as the ink disappeared into the page and was surprised when it took some time for Tom to respond.
I do not know per say but I can confirm that my previous owner once wrote of an incident that was speculated to be linked to something called a Chamber of Secrets but it was never confirmed.
Can you tell me more about that?
Certainly. The incident in question involved an unidentified monster that was said to have terrorized the school for a short period of time and only came to something of a conclusion when a girl tragically died. The phrase 'Chamber of Secrets' was passed around amongst the students as the cause for this monster but there was never anything to indicate such a connection. My owner felt obligated in joining the efforts to find the culprit and stop the attacks. In the end, the culprit was indeed caught and expelled by my owner following the provided clues. But he believed the matter was too cut and dry, especially since the identity of the monster was never confirmed and the student accused of the crime was not one known to have a disposition that would allow for terrorizing and murdering their fellow students.
Bet it was a matter of everyone just wanting the case closed so they could wash their hands of the whole thing and put it behind them.
Precisely. The ministry was especially insistent on this matter as they threatened to shut the school down if the attacks continued and no one was caught. It also did not help that no one else was attacked or died after the assumed culprit was expelled.
But who was the real culprit?
No one knows, not even to this day I assume since you are asking me this years later.
Well damn. I was hoping we'd have an easier mystery to solve this year but I guess not. By the way, what happened to the student who got made into a scapegoat?
I'm not sure. All my owner was willing to write was that one of the professors managed to step in and prevent the student from being sent to Azkaban. I believe that student later became the gameskeeper?
Seth's jaw dropped in surprise as he registered what exactly Tom just shared and implied.
ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT HAGRID?
Hagrid? Do you mean Rubeus Hagrid?
UH YEAH?
Then yes, I believe the student in question was Rubeus Hagrid.
BUT! HE'S SO NICE? AND DESPITE BEING A HALF GIANT, WOULDN'T HURT A FLY?
By chance, do you happen to know him?
UH YEA I mean, yeah, I do.
Ah, that explains the capitalization of your words.
Sorry about that. But going back to how Hagrid of all people could be accused of killing a girl…
Right. My owner also believed he could not be the true culprit but unfortunately, he was said to have a fascination with keeping dangerous creatures as pets so people were eager to lay the blame on him when the finger was pointed.
But thats- Then Seth paused when he remembered the incident with Norbert and shook his head. Yeah, I can see how that could happen but for people to just jump on him like that? Even if Hagrid does like dangerous creatures, I don't think he'd actually keep one just to let them kill someone and I'm pretty sure he would've turned himself in from guilt if a creature he owned did do that.
My owner came to the same conclusions as well but you must remember that it was also a different time back then. I'm sure things in the 21st century are not the same as it was in 1943.
…I guess that's true…
Seth tapped his pen on the page as he processed the information about Hagrid's apparent dark past. He'll have to talk with the gameskeeper about it later, in private of course. Then his attention returned to Rom when new words appeared.
I hope I was able to provide sufficient answers even if they may not be the ones you were hoping for.
No, no, yeah, they were fine. Seth hastily rushed to reassure Tom, feeling oddly guilty at the thought of making Tom feel inadequate. Definitely got some food for thought and discussion.
Excellent! Now I believe we should return to our former discussion before it was so greatly derailed.
Seth felt another strange sense of guilt wash over him at the thought of unintentionally being rude to Tom and had to quickly shake his head to get rid of it. Lol yeah, you right. Sorry about that.
There is no need to apologize as you were merely using another of my functions.
Awesome. So where did we leave off?
You finished the tale of how you became a shadow charmer and were just about to tell me what that was.
Oh yeah. Alright then, strap yourself in cause it's gonna be a long one.
The words disappeared and were replaced by the drawing of a chair and some rope and manacles. Instead of being disturbed by the sight, Seth could only laugh at Tom's attempt at a joke and then he happily began to write, unknowing as the hold of the diary slowly but surely grew stronger and stronger.
And scene! Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter cause there was a lot of change from in reactions and attitude compared to what happened in the books and movies. My major change was in how Salazar Slytherin was presented in canon because it just doesn't sit right with me that one man was to blame for all that pureblood supremacy rot that happened in Hogwarts and how it was implied that he furthered that divide which became such a big part of wizarding society. So I decided to make it as, he had opinions not everyone agreed with a bunch of jealous people took advantage of his death to make him look bad. But don't be worried, there will still be a reason why the chamber of secrets existed beyond how it's presented in canon.
For the rest of the changes, I just wanted to get a head start on the set up for Colin and Justin's attack. Plus, I wanted to make Myrtle not an annoying character cause even if she is a ghost, it has been shown that ghosts aren't perpetually stuck in the age, mentally and physically, after they died. So I just made it so Myrtle is mature for being almost a century old but cause she died before puberty was done, that's the reason why she's prone to tearful outbursts. Also, there's me continuing to slip in my Snape trying to be not as mean agenda which won't have a pay off until the next installment for Prisoner of Azkaban.
Also, I don't know if you guys noticed but the recent chat with the diary is the first time Seth began referring to it as Tom and not as an inanimate object that can communicate. Plus, there are bits and pieces of the diary asserting its influence on Seth ala the charm factor with Myrtle and Percy as well as the intimidation of Justin. Unfortunately, we are still a ways off from Seth realizing that the diary is really up to no good so I hope you guys can continue to be patient with me. Anyways, hope y'all look forward to the next chapter. Until then!
