Yo! I know some of you have issues with this moving along pretty slowly, but I did warn you in the very first chapter that I was going to be covering all years and that this was going to remain fairly canon compliant until fifth year with some changes in other years. Perhaps you wouldn't be complaining if I wrote longer chapters or posted them sooner, but I'm doing the best I can here guys. Writing is literally the only thing keeping me alive right now and if you aren't happy with how slow this is going, then the only thing I can suggest is to wait until it's complete and read it then. And if that isn't satisfactory, then just don't read it at all. I'm working on a million other things besides this here, so I update what I can, when I can. Anyway, thank you to all readers so far!

The days continued to pass. Winter turned to spring and with that came not only the Easter holidays, but time for the second years to pick extra courses for next year. There were five options: Divination, Arithmancy, Muggle Studies, Ancient Runes, and Care of Magical Creatures. They had to pick at least two of them.

At first, Violet had absolutely no idea which courses to choose. Technically speaking, these choices were supposed to be made depending on what they wanted to do in the future-the work field they wanted to get into. But at twelve years old, Violet had hardly put thought into a job of any sort, let alone what courses she would need to get it.

Most, she noticed, were asking their family for advice, but she couldn't do that either. She didn't have family besides the twin sister who obviously hated her, and she certainly couldn't (and didn't want to) ask the Matron. Luckily for her, many of the older Slytherins had warmed up to her since it had come out that she was a Parselmouth, and they seemed to make note of her confusion and offered her some much appreciated advice of their own.

They told her a little about all five classes, the work she would have to do, the professor in charge, and other basic things like that. They didn't care much for Muggle Studies, and said Divination was crap but would be an easy pass if she made things up. Care was good if she liked animals, while Arithmancy and Runes were a little more complex compared to everything else, but were worth taking if she was willing to put in the work.

In the end, Violet went with a process of elimination. She definitely had no need for Muggle Studies, considering she was still living in the Muggle world half the time, even if the class was likely going to be very easy for her-she wanted a bit of a challenge. She didn't at all believe in things like fortune telling or destiny, so Divination was definitely out too. That left her with three choices.

She actually rather liked animals, for the most part, and thanks to Luna and that book she'd been gifted with over Christmas, her curiosity about magical creatures had grown, so she supposed there was no reason for her not to take Care of Magical Creatures, since that class would, no doubt, cover all of that.

And out of the last two courses, well, it was easy to tell which one she was going to pick. Violet had been interested in runes for as long as she could remember, and even though the runes in the wizarding world were no doubt different than the ones she'd read about in her other fantasy books, they were still runes. So, obviously, Ancient Runes was the way to go.

The other Slytherins seemed to approve of her choices and told her she was sure to learn much. The professors for both classes weren't that bad, and since they weren't Heads of Houses, weren't as biased as some other professors were, which was nice.

Theodore, Violet learned, had chosen to go with Ancient Runes and Arithmancy, Neville had chosen Care of Magical Creatures and Divination, while Hermione had taken the hard way and just picked all five courses! Well, that was Hermione for you, Violet thought fondly...

Saturday morning, a week later, was sunny and breezy, and was also the day of the Gryffindor-Hufflepuff Quidditch match. The Great Hall was packed and noisy, everyone talking about the upcoming match, with the Lions and Badgers more boisterous, both Houses hoping their respective teams would win.

Violet and Theodore were discussing the match as well, and as eleven o' clock came closer they, along with many others, left the Great Hall so they could head out to the stadium. The two Slytherins had only just reached the massive front doors when suddenly-

"How dare you!?"

A hand on her shoulder yanked Violet back and she quickly turned around, only to find Rose and Ron standing behind her, both of them glaring at her furiously. She blinked. "How dare I what?" she said, pulling herself away as Theodore stepped forward beside her.

"You stole my diary!" Rose cried. "You pretended to be me, and snuck into our Tower, and took it!"

Needless to say, Violet was quite confused. But even more than that, she was amused by the accusation, and when she exchanged a glance with her friend, it was clear he felt the exact same way as her-the expression on his face showed just that.

"When exactly did this happen?"

"At breakfast as you should bloody well know!"

Violet blinked again. "Ah, well then, it seems I'm in the clear. Theodore and I have only just left the Great Hall, as many students and professors alike have no doubt seen." When a few of the older Slytherins came to stand behind her, she waved them off. This was just Rose being silly again. She could handle it herself.

"Besides," said Violet, folding her arms over her chest, "we may be twins, but we have different hair lengths, not to mention you wear glasses while I don't. And maybe the most important thing of all here-I have absolutely no idea where the entrance to Gryffindor's common room even is, let alone know the password to get inside it."

"Would you even want to steal her diary of all things?" said Theodore with a smirk, blue eyes glinting slightly.

Violet scoffed. "Of course not! I don't care to know what she's been doing every day. I can already imagine what she writes about in there."

Naturally, Violet was fully aware that Rose was talking about Riddle's diary, rather than her own. She wouldn't have gotten so upset otherwise. But Violet didn't want to admit she knew that, and simply pretended she didn't.

She turned cold, emerald eyes on her twin. "Before you go around blaming innocent people for a crime they didn't commit, you should really look at your own House members first, especially since unless it was a professor, the only one who could have taken this diary of yours is a Gryffindor girl." And when Ginny paled at that, Violet immediately knew who the thief was. She just couldn't understand why said thief had done as she had.

Finished making her point, Violet and Theodore turned around and walked off, the sixth and seventh year Slytherins following behind them, protecting her back. But they'd hardly gone five steps before something else unexpected happened to Violet.

"Kill...this time... Let me rip...let me tear..."

"That voice again!" Violet had completely forgotten about it since she hadn't heard it for so long, and hadn't been sure she had heard it in the first place. She exclaimed this out loud, and while Theodore looked rather confused, there was a gasp from behind them. Violet turned and realized that Hermione had come up behind them. She was standing there now, looking oddly breathless, the older Slytherins having moved aside to make room for her sudden appearance. "Herm-"

"Violet! That voice you were just talking about, you've heard it before, right?"

Surprised and a little puzzled, Violet nodded. "Yes, just once, I think, when I was in the shower near the beginning of the school year."

Hermione nodded frantically, then turned and ran off, calling out something about the library. The other two traded a baffled look but shrugged it off as it just being some weird Ravenclaw thing, and continued making their way out of the castle.

Most of the inhabitants of Hogwarts were seated in the stands around the Quidditch pitch, while the teams of Gryffindor and Hufflepuff were standing on said pitch, everyone waiting for the match to officially begin.

Violet, Theodore, and Malfoy were discussing Hufflepuff's chances of beating Gryffindor (a small one, they all agreed), when they spotted McGonagall rushing out onto the pitch, looking rather frazzled, which was rather odd. This couldn't be good.

"This match has been cancelled!" the professor called out loudly, her voice magically amplified. "All students are to return to their common rooms immediately!"

Everyone started talking at once, some complaining about the match no longer taking place, others gossiping, wondering what happened, and some speculating on whether or not there had been another attack.

"Potter!" McGonagall called, when Violet had descended the stands.

Trading another worried look with her friend, who patted her on the back, Theodore continued on to the castle, while Violet approached the Transfiguration professor at the same time as her twin sister, who was on the other side. McGonagall noticed this too, and was quick to correct herself, clarifying that she only wanted Violet, and that Rose was to go straight to the Tower. Figuring her sister was in trouble, Rose shot Violet a smug smirk and then did as told.

"You're to come with me, Miss Potter," said McGonagall. "Remain close." She turned and made her way into the castle.

Feeling more confused than ever, and wondering what in the world this was about, Violet followed closely. The two walked in silence, weaving around students as they headed up flight after flight of stairs.

McGonagall only broke the silence as they, distressingly, neared the hospital wing. "I am afraid that there has been another attack, Miss Potter. Another double attack."

Violet couldn't help but wonder if she was about to be blamed for this one too, but something in the professor's tone said no. Something in her tone told Violet that this was worse. Led inside the hospital wing, Violet immediately saw the first of the new victims, since the bed hadn't yet been surrounded with a curtain.

It was a girl, she noted, looking very pale. Her hair was long and curly, and Violet thought she vaguely recognized her as being an older Ravenclaw-the Prefect, if she was remembering correctly. But she couldn't for the life of her recall her name. The next bed over was also occupied, but she couldn't see who it was because Professor Snape was standing over the person. All Violet could see were stocking clad legs-a girl, then. But the length of said legs showed it must have been someone fairly short-a younger student?

As McGonagall led Violet forward, Snape heard their approaching footsteps and glanced over his shoulder. Serious onyx met confused emerald, and the man stepped aside.

Violet felt her breath catch and die in her throat. "Hermione," she whispered in disbelief. Hermione had been petrified. Her friend had been petrified! Her knees buckled, and then Snape laid a firm hand on her shoulder, keeping her up and steady, but remaining silent.

"Miss Potter..."

Violet looked up at McGonagall but didn't say anything-couldn't say anything.

"I must ask, when was the last time you spoke to Miss Granger?"

"Just-" Violet's breath hitched, "just after breakfast, in the Entrance Hall. She said she was going to the library."

McGonagall nodded. "Both she and Miss Clearwater were discovered near the library. This was discovered near them," she added, holding up a small compact mirror Violet had seen a fair number of older girls with. "Do you recognize it?"

Violet shook her head. The mirror was one girls used with their makeup, but Violet knew Hermione didn't wear any, meaning it must have belonged to the Prefect. But what this had to do with the attack, she didn't understand. McGonagall, Snape, and Madam Pomfrey spoke to one another, but Violet hardly heard a word they said.

She couldn't take her eyes off her friend. She had never seen Hermione so pale and still before. Violet had never had friends before and while she certainly wasn't used to it just yet, she cherished them. And now one of those friends had been attacked and was laying on this hard bed, looking like she was dead.

It was only when Snape's grip on her shoulder tightened that Violet was able to look away. The women in the room, she noticed, where staring at her, both of them appearing rather upset. Violet looked down and at that point was led away by her Head of House, who took her back down to the Slytherin common room...

The Slytherins were shocked to see the gesture of comfort coming from Snape-even if it was just a hand on the girl's shoulder, and that shock only grew when the man called for Nott, gesturing towards Violet, who was immediately lowered down into a seat by her friend, the two sharing an armchair now. It was only once Violet was settled that Professor Snape actually spoke.

"There has been a second double attack," said Snape, not even required to raise his voice in the deafening silence. "This time, the victims were both Ravenclaw students. A fifth year Prefect-Penelope Clearwater, and a second year," his eyes flicked to Violet, "Hermione Granger." He informed them of all the new, restrictive rules, and then left them be.

Many focused their attention on Potter now, who was assuring Nott that she was alright. But it was clear that she was lying. They could tell that she was not only shaken, but worried too, and they supposed they couldn't blame her.

Slytherins had a reputation of being cold and indifferent, but that was only around other Houses. They were actually some of the most caring and compassionate people, and one would never learn that unless they became close to them.

But what Potter didn't know was that a fair number of them were actually upset over Granger's plight. Not all, of course, but some. And there was a reason for that, though Potter didn't know it herself.

Potter was a Slytherin, and despite being a Half-Blood, thanks to her ability of Parselmouth her status was, in a manner of speaking, higher than theirs. They just hadn't told her this yet. She was only a second year, and hadn't even gotten used to Hogwarts yet, let alone had the time to figure out how their House mechanics worked.

Now, because of this status, Potter's friends, whichever House they may have belonged in, and whatever Blood they may have, were off limits and essentially under their protection.

Right now, only Nott and Granger were a part of that, but they knew Longbottom and Lovegood would be added to that list soon too-possibly even a few Weasleys at some point in the future. So, with Granger having been on that list and now having been attacked, well, they weren't particularly pleased.

But the Slytherins weren't the only ones talking. Everyone in the castle was making a few observations: one Gryffindor had been attacked; a Gryffindor ghost had been attacked; one Hufflepuff had been attacked; two Ravenclaws had been attacked; no Slytherins had been attacked; Violet Potter was a Parselmouth and in Slytherin, so she must be the one behind all this; Granger was her friend though, which was obvious; Rose Potter was also a Parselmouth, and Creevey wasn't her friend or anything; it was more likely that Rose Potter was Slytherin's Heir, rather than Violet Potter; it has to be Violet Potter though, she's already in Slytherin; but-

No one was able to agree or reach a consensus of any kind. Everyone was so sure that one of the Potter twins was Slytherin's Heir, but none of them could agree on which one it could actually be...

It took Malfoy only two days to get over what happened. He walked into Slytherin's common room one evening just before curfew, beaming. Hagrid, according to him, had been arrested and his father had, shockingly, managed to get rid of Dumbledore too. Malfoy recounted his tale over and over again to anyone who was willing to listen.

Violet, in the middle of doing homework with Theodore, frowned as she listened. She didn't care much that Dumbledore was gone-she was hardly his biggest fan, but she was positive that Hagrid's arrest wasn't going to solve anything. There was no way he was behind the attack.

But who was Slytherin's Heir? Who was the one doing this? Rose and Ron. Ginny. The diary. Tom M Riddle. The strange voice. The roosters. The petrifications. The mirror that had been found near Hermione and Clearwater. Violet knew she had all the clues, or at least most of them, but she couldn't figure out how exactly they all went together.

And that was really annoying her now, because she had always prided herself on her intelligence and yet, ever since coming to Hogwarts, she couldn't help but feel like an idiot. It was because she didn't know much about this world, she knew. She understood she wasn't going to learn much in school either. And she was aware that she both needed and wanted to learn more.

But to do that she was going to have to wait until summer so she could head to Flourish and Blotts and buy a few books. Hopefully the matron would continue leaving her alone so she could read and study in peace.

That night, Violet had an odd dream. It was dark and she couldn't see anything, but she could still hear and feel. Someone was holding her hand. It was a big hand, dwarfing her own in comparison, its fingers long and slim, and oddly cool. The person's other hand was in her hair, stroking slowly and gently. These hands belonged to a man, she was sure. But the person never spoke. He just continued to stroke her hair, the motion oddly soothing.

"Tom..." Violet didn't know how she knew, but she was positive this was Tom Riddle. For months now she'd been thinking that she knew him, that his name sounded familiar. This was him. She was sure of it.

But he still didn't speak. She heard him laugh, the sound low, before he pressed a kiss to her temple. It was almost like he was confirming her thoughts and suspicions.

Violet woke abruptly, noted it was still dark and her arm had gone numb, turned around in bed, fell back asleep, and when she woke up again in the morning, she had no recollection of the strange dream at all...

All the fear that had begun to fade grew once again, exceeding what it had been before. Everyone rushed from class to class, escorted everywhere by professors, even to the loo. Nobody was allowed to be out of their common rooms alone, not to go to the library, not to go to the hospital wing-which caused a fair few problems, nowhere.

It was incredibly irritating and difficult for all, be they staff or student, especially because there weren't nearly enough adults to watch over all the kids at all times, and make sure no one broke any of the new rules...

Regardless, summer was getting closer with each passing day. The spring rains were beginning to dwindle down and flowers bloomed, grass and tree leaves shining a pretty, healthy green. Unfortunately, it was nowhere near as peaceful inside the castle.

With Dumbledore gone, people were even more scared than before, even the professors, which certainly was not a positive or relieving sight. Lockhart seemed to be the only adult who wasn't scared or tenser than usual, and he appeared to be wholly satisfied that since Hagrid had been arrested, everything was going to be just fine now.

No one else really believed that at all.

Just a few days later, Theodore came to Violet, telling her that he had just overheard Rose and Ron talking. Apparently, they had followed some spiders into the Forbidden Forest and come across a nest of acromantula, who had claimed that the last time the Chamber of Secrets had been opened, a girl had died in a bathroom and that Slytherin's monster was something they feared above all else.

"They were saying the acromantula nearly killed them," said Theodore. "But, do you remember that flying car from the beginning of the year? Apparently it saved them. I'm amazed they weren't caught, those idiots."

Violet couldn't help but agree. Then again, Rose and Ron seemed to have abnormally good luck. Still, she soaked in the information, a little annoyed that Rose had gone and done something so stupid and dangerous. Again. She didn't like her sister by any stretch of the imagination, but she certainly didn't want her dead.

Not long later, when Violet got into bed, she had only just begun to drift off when she was hit with a sudden revelation and she bolted back up, a gasp leaving her.

Moaning Myrtle.

The girl who died in a bathroom fifty years ago...what if it was her? It was no guarantee, but certainly a possibility, and as the only ghost who haunted a bathroom-it was worth at least asking about, wasn't it?

She wanted to find out, wanted to ask Moaning Myrtle herself, but it was near impossible to get away on their own thanks to the new rules. Rose had only managed it because of their dad's Invisibility Cloak that she had been given. Violet had no such help and to make matters worse, the older Slytherins were keeping a closer watch over her too, since she was being confronted by other students time and time again, some of who were beginning to become increasingly violent.

As the days went by, Violet planned on how she would sneak away. She didn't tell anyone about it, not even Theodore, and she was sure she was going to regret it, just like last year. But she still didn't trust people, and likely wasn't going to for a while yet.

Ginny, she noticed, was getting worse again too. More tense, more nervous, more pale, more scared, and this just worried Violet even more. She hoped it was just stress from the fear of the attacks, But with the way the younger girl had most likely stolen that strange diary from Rose, well...

Still, one morning, when Violet and Theodore were nearing Slytherin Table, Ginny approached the two, as pale and frightened as always, causing the other two to pause.

"U-um, c-can I talk to you, V-Violet?"

Violet nodded and led Ginny a few steps away from Theodore. "What's wrong, Ginny? Go on, you can tell me," she said encouragingly.

Ginny hesitated for another moment, her arms wrapped around herself tightly. "I-there's something I-I-" She didn't get to say anything more.

"Ginny!? What the bloody-!? Stay away from those Snakes!" It was Ron. He must have seen them talking and hurried over, because his face was almost as red as his hair. He grabbed his little sister by the arm and just like months ago over the summer, dragged her away, yelling about 'Potter trying to corrupt his little sister', or something along those lines.

"What was all that about?" said Theodore once Violet had rejoined him.

Violet sighed and shrugged. "I don't know. She wanted to tell me something, something pretty important, if I had to guess, but her...brother," she sneered, "dragged her away before she could explain."

Theodore hummed in answer, blue eyes lingering on Gryffindor Table. "She doesn't look very good. Is she sick?"

"I'm not sure. She's been like that for months now. Fred and George-the twins, say she's been having nightmares."

And as he poured himself some juice, Theodore decided that it was about time he did some research. Hermione may be the better researcher, but he knew he was certainly no slouch. And after getting permission from Professor Snape and spending some time in the library, it took him only a little while to find the answers he had been looking for.

When he returned to the common room, he found Violet in an armchair in the corner of the room, reading the book he had given her for Christmas. He joined her, squeezing into the armchair with her so they could speak quietly without anyone else hearing them.

"Violet, I think I know what Slytherin's monster is."

Violet lowered the book to her lap immediately and turned as best as she could in the tight space. "What did you find out?" She knew he'd been looking into it-he'd told her as much.

"A basilisk."

Violet blinked. "A basilisk?" she repeated. A giant snake?

"Yes, listen-" Theodore went through the clues with her. The voices she had been hearing that no one, perhaps other than Rose, could hear, was most likely Parseltongue, the language only the two of them could speak. She had assumed she was hearing the voice from through the wall, and he was sure the monster was using the pipes to travel-they would be large enough for that. Spiders were terrified of them, but a rooster's cry could kill them.

Violet listened closely. "Basilisks...they kill via sight, don't they?"

Theodore nodded. "Meeting their eyes cause instant death. But you see, no one who was attacked looked at it directly."

"Ah!" Violet understood immediately. "They all saw reflections, didn't they? Mrs Norris must have seen it in the water on the floor. Creevey had his camera, and he spends more time taking pictures than anything else. Finch-Fletchley likely saw it through that ghost, and the ghost was already dead anyway. And Hermione..."

"She and that Prefect were found with a small mirror near them, weren't they? Hermione found out it was a basilisk too-that's probably what she was looking up before she was attacked. When she left the library and ran into the Prefect, knowing her, she probably told her to look around corners with a mirror first."

But they didn't even have the chance to think about what they wanted to do with this information-whether they were going to tell a professor, or keep it to themselves, when the shocking news met them.

Ginny Weasley had been taken into the Chamber of Secrets and a new message in blood had appeared on the same wall as the first, this time proclaiming, 'Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever'.

Malfoy laughed. Some of the other Slytherins did too. Theodore frowned and turned to look at Violet, and the expression she had on her face didn't surprise him at all. She looked concerned.

Only one chapter left for second year! Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!