Chapter 18: Below no longer

"it's tonight, and you gotta come" Hermione said. The four Gryffindors sat at the table in the great hall for breakfast the following morning.

"what even is a 'deathday Party?'" Kiba asked

"it's like a Birthday only," Ron said

"for the day you died" Harry finished.

"But it's not like we can just skip the Halloween feast" Kiba said "and I've got a lot of reading to do"

"well if Kiba isn't going then i won't either" Hermione said. Kiba had already intended to skip the feast anyways, he had found the diary under his bed again the previous night, and somehow when he picked it up he felt ready, he felt he knew where the chamber was and he was going to open it. Due to the fact that it was Halloween they had a completely free day. Perfect for the Parselmouth. He stuffed the rest of his meal into his mouth and left the great hall quickly and headed for the common room.

He sat down and dipped his quill into some ink. 'Dear Faye,' he began writing 'I thought you might want some more sweets from here, it's Halloween so there's plenty to go around. I hope everything is fine in the orphanage, and with the Kenway's.. they said they'd take you yet?

Do you remember the caretaker i told you about, Filch. Well he's getting meaner by the day and his cat is just as awful. He was trying to get a rise out of me, and i almost hit him.

I miss you allot, usually we'd spend so much time together, that's what i miss. I already got your Christmas present ready and will see you during the holidays.

Happy Halloween,

Kiba' he sighed as he folded the parchment and tied it to Kuzon's leg.

'Why does she never write back?' Kuzon asked softly

"i think because of madam, she's probably not letting her send them" Kiba replied, though he feared something else might be they case but he brushed it of and send his owl off.

'Maybe Kuzon is bringing the letters to the wrong place' said hotaru from his shoulder

"nonsense, have some faith in him will you? You are practically family" Kiba said "I've got homework to do, we'll play later okay?"

'sure, I'm feeling a bit sleepy anyways' with a quick jump the small dragon disappeared and left Kiba alone in the common room. He sighed heavily and began doing is homework with little difficulties but it was allot and he was busy for multiple hours. But the parselmouth wasn't feeling like himself at all, his headaches were increasing again and his focus would constantly drift away from his work and he would think of other things. He took some books that he had taken from the library and went to bring them back. As he entered the library he was met with Hermione who smiled at him brightly. "still no chance your coming to Nicks Deathday party" she asked

"no, sorry." Kiba said apologetically "i might just go to bed today. Probably not even going to attend the feast"

"are you feeling alright?" the girl asked "i worry about you sometimes"

"Huh? You don't have to"

"but i do, you know.. i barely see you these days, your always off doing stuff or going to bed early" Hermione said "just, take care of yourself" Hermione held her books close to her chest and sighed as she looked into Kiba's eyes which looked back at hers in silence. Hermione then slowly leaned forwards and placed a soft kiss on the cheek of the stunned boy, both of the young Gryffindors began heating up intensely causing Hermione to slip past Kiba and quickly leave the library.

For a moment Kiba stood still, thinking, wondering and processing what had just happened, for a short time his headache had disappeared but they soon returned and he continued by bringing the books back to their shelfs. The bell rang indicating that the feast would soon begin but Kiba's feet didn't carry him that way. His steps lead to where he was ment to go, to do what he was meant to do.. He was born for this.

He stood before the door off the abandoned second floor girls bathroom, and this time he didn't hesitate to turn the knob and open it. He looked left and right to check for any watchful eyes, and proceeded into the bathroom. Kiba remembered his dream, where he woke up just where he stood now, and everything was like then. The floor was mostly wet, the walls were turning green from mold and the different flora that grew in the cracks of the tiles. 'How can plants grow here?' Kiba asked himself as he turned back to close the door, the bathroom was filthy and disgusting except for the circular sinks, which were in peak condition. Kiba stepped forward towards the sinks and checked the taps until he found the engraved snake. He traced its form with his fingers and instinctively spoke "The heir has returned"

Something clicked and the room vibrated. The sinks began spiralling and at the end moved into the ground to reveal the giant pipe that led down into the darkness. The Déjà vu that zipped across Kiba's mind was undeniable, it was all like in his dream down to every detail. "a girls bathroom, Salazar Slytherin was a genius, in an odd way"

"who's there?" a female voice called out from the ile of cubicles. Kiba jumped, he was sure that nobody was in the bathroom when he entered, and he wasn't going to be caught in the act of opening the chamber, which meant he wasn't going to stick around. He jumped into the pipe and slid down into the darkness, until he could see nothing. Each twist and turn was exactly like in his dream, and he could feel the incredible rush that he felt from his dream. The invigoration and the electrifying sensation of his nerves burning with excitement as he slid with insane speed made him feel like a different person. He loved it. Unlike in his dream he knew the pipe would end at any moment and was prepared, without ever trying hard he landed on his feet and brushed back his hair as a happy grin formed on his face.

He lit his wand with a quick flick and revealed his surroundings. Bones were all over the cold stone floor, bones with different shapes and sizes. Rats, mice and ones that seemed to be those of chickens. The Parselmouth carefully made his way through the graveyard and past the stalagmites and reached the circular serpent door. With a quick hiss he opened the door and stepped through the hole landing in a puddle on the solid stone floor. The air was refreshing as a green hue entered the boys eyes, infecting everything in sight. The silvery snake pillars on either side bared open their large fangs reaching the top of the seemingly endless ceiling as their bodies sunk below the water. Kiba was somebody else at that point, he wasn't the careing and hardworking Scamander anymore, no. This Kiba was vicious and thirsted for blood. Had his friends seen his devilish grin or his shimmering red eyes now, then they wouldn't have recognized the boy.

"I am Kiba Rolf Scamander, I am the heir of Slytherin and i am here to fulfil my destiny, to serve my noble bloodline" Kiba spoke in Parsel "Beast of the Chamber, i command you to come forward" he turned his back to the central statue and began walking towards the exit of the chamber again. The hissing and slithering behind him told him that the gigantic serpent followed him.

'long have i waited, Master' it hissed 'now my time has come again. Remember, not even you can withstand my gaze so do not look upon my eyes'

"i know what you are, Basilisk." Kiba hissed "today we kill" the giant snake slithered past the boy leaving a layer of its skin behind in the boneyard. Kiba jumped onto its long back and held on as the serpent ascended the pipe at immense speed.

'I'm awake… I'm Thirsting… Blood… Kill… KILL!'

"do you smell that Mrs Norris?" Filch asked as he patrolled the castle with his one and everything. "the twins are out of bed again" the cat mowed loudly in agreement but then suddenly stopped. "what is it, my sweet?" her hairs stood up straight from her back and she broke into a run. Filch followed suit, though he was out of breath quickly and soon lost sight of the feline and calling out to her wielded no response. The caretaker began frantically searching for his cat, because without Mrs Norris he was nothing, the old man breathed heavily as he ran from one corridor to the next and then to the next floor.

It took him a while but eventually he found his cat, but not like he wanted to. Mrs Norris was stiff as a board and hung by her tail from a wallmounted lantern. Tears began to stream from the caretakers eyes and he dropped to his knees with a loud cry of sadness. He dropped his hands to the ground and realized that the entire floor was flooded "Damn you Myrtle!" he shouted loudly as slammed a fist into the water. He closed his eyes and cried out. His cat, his Mrs Norris, his everything… was dead. He opened his eyes and saw a figure in the reflection of the water towering above him, it's body was long and every snakelike scale shun green, he traced along it's form and all the way to it's reflected head and it's great yellow…

Just like his cat, Filch to went stiff in his kneeling position. He had seen the piercing yellow eyes of the Basilisk and it had claimed his life. The red haired boy that stood beside the monster laughed devilishly as he stepped over to the caretakers still body. "not so tough anymore, huh?" he pressed his boot against the stiff shoulder and pushed the body onto its side. He towered above Filch and grinned. He pointed his wand at the wall next to the hung up cat and wrote as he spoke. "The Chamber has been reopened, Enemies of the heir beware!" he burned the words into the wall with black flames and felt nothing but pride. Pride, that he was a descendant of Salazar Slytherin

"the heir has returned!" Kiba felt powerful, he felt that Filch fully deserved this. And he wasn't the only one who deserved to fall victim to him, there were so many in this school unworthy, so many Mudbloods. Kiba flinched in pain and fell backwards against the wall and the diary dropped from his hands as they quickly moved to hold his stomach. He sank down into a fetal position and felt deathly ill at the sight of Filch's dead body. 'what did i..' Kiba saw the body of the Basilisk towering above him and felt it's tongue touch him ever so slightly. He shut his eyes painfully and all he could see was Filch's face, his scared and, at the same time, sad expression and he could see Mrs Norris and Quirrel. Three faces Kiba knew he would never forget.

'Master, who is next?' the Basilisk suddenly asked

"No one" Kiba hissed back "you should return to the chamber"

'of course Master' it hissed in return as it made it's way back into the bathroom 'I'll await your return'

Kiba sat quietly, shaking slightly with his head held against his knees. He didn't want to look at it, at Filch, at Mrs Norris, at the message he had burned into the wall with devilish black flames. Nothing. He wanted to sit, and cry, and puke but he couldn't. And worst of all, he still felt proud of himself or at least the other him did.

"Harry, slow down!" Ron's voice echoed through the corridor, bouncing off of every wall making it seem as though he stood right beside Kiba. Something set in at that moment, was it Panic or Paranoia? Maybe even fear. No matter what it was it caused Kiba to get onto his feet and run and as he turned the corner, leaving Filch out of view he heard the footsteps that followed Ron's voice slow down.

"Oh. My. God."

Harry stood in the flooded corridor with Ron and Hermione. All three of them disturbed by what they were witnessing. Neither had seen anything scarier before, not the figure in the forbidden forest, not fluffy not even Voldemorts very face. They all gasped and contained their screams of terror fearing that, who ever or what ever did this would come for them. Hermione couldn't speak for once, her eyes quivered at the ghastly sight and her hand covered her mouth. "G-Guys, i think that's… Filch" Ron said with a crack in his voice.

"and Mrs Norris," Harry added, but another yelp from Hermione came when the three looked at the wall, and the small black flames that hung on to life on the letters that had been burned into the wall. "The Chamber has been reopened, Enemies of the heir beware?!"

"who the hell is 'the heir', and what Chamber had been opened.. what the fuck is even all this?!" Ron said growing more histerical by the second while Hermione began to sob into her hands, she had covered her eyes and turned away from the horrific scene.

"I-… I don't know…" Harry said with his eyes fixed on the writing "should we… shou- what do we do?" Harry slowly approached the body that lay in the puddle caused by the leakige from the closed off bathroom, he was stuck in a kneeling position but was laid out on his side. The terror that Filch's face showed struck Harry hard, his eyes quivered as he stated in to those of the caretaker. Like this, he reminded the scar bearing boy of a kicked over mannequin that had been left to it's own, just much more realistic. He continued stepping through the puddle and towards Mrs Norris. He reached out his hand and touched her fur gently, but every hair was frozen stiff and pierced his skin like a needle.

"Filch is dead. Oh god, Filch is dead.. And then this message, yeah i think we're all gonna-"

"AAAAAAHHHHH" a large group of students had appeared behind the trio And nearly everyone screamed in terror. Of course they all immediately assumed it was Harry, Ron and Hermione who did it and the corridor filed with students. One Slytherin pushed his way through the crowd and read the message aloud.

"'The Chamber has been reopened, Enemies of the heir beware'?" Draco quoted before turning his attention to other students and Hermione In particular "you hear that Mudbloods? Your next!"

Just as Hermione was about to shoot back an insult at the boy a voice could be heard loud and clear "Quiet" it was none other then Snape who came through the crowd and stopped in front of the Trio. The three just looked at each other, clueless on what do next. If they weren't careful then it could turn out to be the second time the entire school would treat them like the foulest of tramps who had somehow found a way inside of the castle. They felt their hearts skip when Dumbledore glided in with grace. Multiple other teachers, including McGonagall, followed the old man as they too were appalled by what they saw.

"So what's the problem? I'm sure that I can fix it with a- Oh my." Lockhart strolled along as the last teacher on the scene and almost posed heroically until he saw Filch. His glittering smile disappeared, as did the colour in his face. "Is that..."

"Yes;' said the headmaster, "it is Argus."

"What happened to him, Albus?" McGonagall asked anxiously, tightening her grip on her robes.

"We'll find out soon enough. In the meantime, I suggest everyone returns to their dorms immediately. Except for Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley and Mrs. Granger. Please, follow me" Everybody parted as they carried on discussing about what happened. The trio followed Dumbledore, who was levitating Filch with his finger, Snape and Professor McGonagall who carried Mrs Norris, to Lockhart's office. Hermione wanted to know if Kiba was among the crowd that was sent to the dorm but put him out of her mind as they entered the DADA classroom.

Everyone, except Lockhart, ignored the moving portraits of Lockhart himself, and cleared the desk to allow Filch to lay upon it. After several minutes of inspection and prodding from the old man, everyone tensed up to hear the final confirmation of the caretaker's condition.

"Alas, Argus is not dead." The trio sighed quietly as did McGonagall but Snape simply twitched his lower lip.

"But he's frozen... he can't move. How is this possible? There is no spell that can do this" Hermione asked gently. She stuck close to Harry and Ron.

"No, no spell could have done this" Dumbledore said stroking his long silver beard "but what could?"

"you did see the message, Albus. 'The Chamber-'" McGonagall said

"yes, Minerva. I do have my theory," the old wizard said. Once again Harry detected a flicker of fear in a man he thought incapable of experiencing fear. But Dumbledore was still a man. He shook his head and turned to the three children "i did notice you three didn't attend the feast inn the great hall. So how do i know you aren't part of this 'attack'"

"well, we were at sir Nicolas' deathday party" Harry said quietly

"we tried to convince the headless hunters to let him join in on the hunt" Ron added "but.. they wouldn't.. let him" he said stuttering under Snape's stare.

"And we weren't hungry afterwards, so were decided to head for our common room immediately and that's when we…"

"found Mister Filch" Harry said, finishing their story. Of course they wouldn't tell anybody that Harry had heard a voice in the walls that wanted to kill, and Hermione sure had gotten quick at making up stories ever since their first year.

"it's that truly so?" asked Dumbledore

"if i might suggest, headmaster. Perhaps Potter and his friends were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time" as unexpected as it was Snape seemed to try and defendet the trio while the usually optimistic Dumbledore doubted them.

"Perhaps indeed Severus," Dumbledore said "of to bed you three" with a quick turn and Gary steroids the three headed for their dorms as fast as possible, hoping that nothing would come after them. "Minerva, i must see Kiba as soon as possible"

"I'll send him before breakfast" The witch replied. She was worried, not just about the wellfare of the caretaker and his cat, but worried about every student that could've been in his place. Dumbledore though, he looked very different from his usual self… very different.

"don't look so sad Minerva, Filch will be back in no time" Dumbledore spoke softly "Severus, i trust you to produce a restorative as soon as possible"

"of course, Headmaster" Snape strode out of the room ignoring Lockhart who suggested that he'd help the potions master, and disappeared from view.

Something happened that night that no one realized though not even the boy who it had happened to. Something inside had changed, drastically. Tom Riddle's diary was fitted inside Kiba's bag as he wandered the hallways of the castle. "Kiba, so you have a minute" Hermione said stepping closer to the boy

"depends. For what?" the Parselmouth asked in return

"well, the attack on Filch has been on my mind. And the message as well" the girl began "and i was curious since the professors seemed so concerned"

"So you did since digging?" Kiba asked, the boy feared the answer. He knew Hermione was answer but that she'd catch on this quick was incredible

"Exactly, and i found something about a Chamber" she said "The Chamber of Secrets"

"The Chamber of what now?" Kiba asked faking his confusion as best he can

"yeah, it's only a name though. I was wondering if you would help me find out more" the girl said

"of course, sounds awesome" Kiba said further faking his emotions, this time excitement. "but are you sure we'll find out anything in the library? If it's got the professors concerned then it must be more… confidential, right?"

"i thought so too" Hermione said beginning to walk "still worth a shot" the two headed straight for the library and before Kiba knew it, Hermione dumped seven large books on the table "let's get to it!" she said excitedly. The Parselmouth grabbed the first book and read it's title

"Hogwarts: a history?" he said "it's not in here"

"might be, maybe i missed it on my first few reads" Hermione said reaching for the founders book "just check it, okay?" Kiba nodded slowly and opened the book.

'why did i agree to this? I already know about the Chamber, and the heir. I found it, it's ME!' Kiba thought 'this is such a waste of time. At least this will give me an alibi. As long as Hermione thinks i don't know anything she won't suspect me..' however angry he was at himself for getting into such a time wasting situation it turned out most opportune for Kiba, maybe he could use Hermione's curiosity to blame someone else for the attack on Filch, and not raise any suspicion on himself.

As Hermione got up the get more books and bring the others away Kiba quickly pulled the diary from his bag along with his quill. He quickly scribbled across the parchment to tell his father about Filch '.. The whole school is talking about it'

'now that you've got them talking you have to pierce their every thought'

'How?'

'with fear' was Tom's reply 'send shivers down their spines at mere mention of the heir'

'what would you have me do?' for a while hiss ink stayed on the parchment before slowly fading. Ever so slowly Tom replied, letter by letter.

'Kill a Mudblood'

Kiba hesitated, for a moment he let the ink from his feather drip onto the book, his eyes were fixed on the diary before him. Kill a Muggle-born? An actual Muggle-born, that was in this school? Someone Like… he looked towards the rows of bookshelves and saw Hermione dash from one to the next… 'i don't think i can'

'yes you can,' Tom replied 'it'll be easy. You're better at this then i was' those words set something inside Kiba in motion. Better then his own father? But Kiba didn't want to kill anyone else, he only intended to use the Basilisk for Filch and no more. Even so, the thought off killing again made Kiba scared, he considered himself lucky that Filch didn't die. When he struck down Quirrell he felt a tearing pain inside him that went beyond physical hurt. And it had followed him ever since. If he killed, would it happen again? Would it be stronger? Harder to endure? It might even kill him this time. Kiba wasn't going to risk finding out.

"I'm back" Hermione said happily with a few more books in her arms. Kiba's eyes finally broke free from his trance and he looked at the girl before quickly closing the diary. "did you find anything?"

"i thought i did," Kiba said quickly "bit thinking about it now… it's nothing" the bell rung loudly throughout the castle and indicated the start of their next lesson… History of Magic. A topic that Kiba would enjoy of the teacher wasn't mister Binns.

"I'll just take these with me" Hermione said putting the books into her bag "come on Kiba" the Parselmouth quickly stuffed his belongings in to his bag and walked with the girl. They walked through the blackboard of the classroom and sat down in their seats at the front and back of the class. Kiba had taken a seat in the back and no need other then Parvati had taken the seat beside him.

The lesson began and before even five minutes had passed everyone was out of it. Most of the students, including Theodore were having trouble keeping their heads balanced on their hands. And some had just fallen asleep. Parvati was constantly swaying her head in Kiba's direction and ultimately dropped it on Kiba's shoulder. "Parvati, get off" Kiba said pushing her head away

"i can't help it" she replied "I'm just so tired" she leaned over to Kiba again butt he blocked her head before it reached him.

"then lay down on your table" Kiba said

"Miss Pastel and Mister Salamander, you can flirt after class. Now please pay attention" almost every head turned to Kiba to see what was happening and Kiba returned every gaze. Seamus was giggling behind his hand and Ron simply winked at Kiba. Harry had only looked but Hermione's had was still facing forward. Kiba wasn't even going to try and defend himself. He slumped down into his seat and focused on his thoughts where Tom Riddle's words had found permanent residence. Was the boy actually deciding wether to kill his fellow students or not, just because his father and ancestor wanted him to? Would he betray the trust he had earned last year? Dumbledore's trust, betrayed by a boy with the help of the-

"… Chamber of Secrets" Hermione's voice echoed through the heir's mind. Internal panic ensued and Kiba began shaking lightly. Everyone was wide awake at this point and listened to the ghost professor speak.

"Miss Gramper, i cannot tell you what i know because this is History of Magic and not Myths of-"

"but a myth had to originate from somewhere, isn't that history in its own?"

"yes, but i-"

"All legends have their roots in some form of the truth, and are usually based on ancient cultures and religions. Seeing as that is in the past –"

"alright, enough. If i must tell you then i shall, but only if all of you promise to stay focused for the rest of the lesson" everyone nodded furiously. No longer were the heads hard to balance, and no longer were the tables used as pillows for a quick nap. Everyone was prepared to hear everything Binns had to say, unlike usually. Kiba spotted Hermione dipping her feather into some ink to write down any information that the History teacher had to give.

"This school was founded by the four most prominent wizards and witches of their time, Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff and Salazar Slytherin. I will not go into such detail about them individually, but know that they all wanted children like them to thrive with their magical talents, away from Muggles. These were dark times for our community." Binns floated from side to side as he spoke in his usual monotone "peace was balanced between the four founders until the divide started to form. It was believed that Slytherin saw the school, only for those within wizarding families, pure-bloods if you will. Those born without magical blood, Muggle-borns, were seen as unworthy to him. He even felt contempt towards half-bloods as well. Soon enough, Salazar Slytherin had left the castle after an argument among the other founders, never to return again."

"But what's the Chamber of Secrets?"

"I'm getting to it Mister Dongplottem. Slytherin not only left his respective house behind but also his 'legacy'. Somewhere inside of the school, lies a hidden chamber, built by the defected founder himself for his direct heir alone. By using the Chamber, the Heir of Slytherin would cleanse the school of those who were unworthy to study magic. Those, in Salazar's eyes, were impure and... dirty." Kiba felt a sense of superiority that a legend so great and feared, had referred to him. He only wished that his story was as famous as Harrys, probably even more. How often was it that a founder's heir stumbled inside of Hogwarts? Not too often.

"But how? How would they do it?" Hermione asked curiously. She gripped the edge of the table tightly, waiting for the answer to escape from the professor's lips.

"A monster, my dear. A monster so terrible and fearsome, that we do not know of it. This monster would fall under the control of the Heir, and the Heir alone who used it to commit the most atrocious acts, one couldn't possibly do on their own. Slytherin's Beast."

Kiba couldn't help but smile at everyone's reaction to the story. He inhaled slowly, intoxicating himself with the fear, excreted from his classmates. He hadn't been shaking because of fear, no. He shook with anticipation and excitement, to see and feel the fear within his classmates. Parvati was trembling beside him as was Neville in his front. The disturbing unease that filled the room remained all the way until the end of the lesson, when everybody rushed straight through the blackboard. Kiba walked silently next to Ron, Harry and Hermione, listening to their take on his heritage. And he wasn't particularly happy.

"how can Slytherin exist as a house in Hogwarts with that kind of history" Ron said loudly "batshit crazy! I know that if i could i would remove Slytherin as Hogwarts house"

"your overreacting Ron," Kiba said as passively as he could "the chamber is fake anyways and Slytherin left, so what's the big deal?"

"the big deal, Kiba?" Ron replied "He wanted his own descendents to kill muggle-borns. Children! He's a psychopath" Kiba could feel anger growing inside him, having his friends talk down onto his great ancestor was almost unbearable.

"i think he was just cautious. Remember that Muggles hunted witches and wizards back then? Imagine what they could do of they found out where they were teaching magic"

"i can't believe your defending him" Ron said. Kiba was furious, he wanted to shout out that he was Slytherin's heir. He wanted to shove it down Rons throat, see what they think of Slytherin then. Better not.

"I wasn't! I'm just trying to… forget it!" Hermione suddenly stopped beside them and it seemed like a thought popped into her head. "Hermione?"

"He was a pure-blood supremacist." Hermione said "He used a terrible catalyst to kill Muggle-borns for the benefit of his, so named, superior race.. He reminds me of someone"

"Did you just compare Slytherin with Hitler?" Kiba asked. Hermione nodded, confirming his question "ridiculous" Kiba said and continued walking

"what?" Hermione gasped catching up to him "do you –"

"look, Hitler was the one hunting the Jews" Kiba said quickly "the Muggles were the ones who hunted Slytherin and other wizards. If the Jews threatened Hitler then your comparison would be correct, but… they didn't" Kiba sighed heavily "Salazar lived thousands of years ago, it doesn't matter" Kiba was growing angrier by the second. What started as a campfire was now turning into a first fire 'how dare she compare the great Salazar Slytherin to a filthy muggle like Adolf Hitler. Slytherin was a noble man who sought to care for and protect all wizards and witches!'

Hermione didn't look satisfied by Kiba's argument but kept quiet and like the boy remained silent wedgie they listened to Ron and Harry. The walked through the castle and were headed for the great hall. It was near dinnertime and the bell could ring at any minute but all of them stopped when they came by the bathroom on the second floor. The water on the floor was still there since Filch wasn't around to do it. The message that Kiba had written was still on the wall, and the four read it again. Hermione, Harry and Ron didn't even suspect that it had been their best friend that had written the message. Kiba could only recall how lucky he was that he hasn't burned himself with the strange black flames "we should keep going" Kiba said "you don't want to be caught here again"

Harry ignored him and walked towards the door "maybe we should look for any clues inside" he suggested "just a little look around"

"last year we took a little look around and almost died!" Kiba protested blocking the way to the door but Hermione slipped past him and quickly headed inside. Even though Kiba had only been in this bathroom once it felt so familiar like he had lived in this bathroom for years. The sinks the cubicles, he could walk this room blindfolded.

Kiba stayed outside as the other three headed inside, he feared that if he entered that the chamber would open by its self. It sounds foolish but it's magic, who knows what it can do? "aren't you coming Kiba?" Harry called out

"damn" Kiba said under his breath "I'm coming" he quickly looked left and right down the corridor and headed into the bathroom when he was sure no one was watching him. He closed the door and turned around to face the other three and was surprised to see a ghost as well. "woah" the ghost rushed in close and inspected the boy

"you look awfully familiar" she said with a high pitched voice. The space between the boy and the pale ghostly girl grew smaller by the second and Kiba could see every pimple in full detail. He took a few steps back and sighed quietly

"Hi I'm Kiba" he said simply

"Hey Kiba, I'm Myrtle" she giggled and began floating around the boy "Kiba.. that's a strange name, is it American?"

"Japanese, actually" the boy replied "it means Fang, you know like the teeth of a wolf" Hermione looked at Kiba curiously and the boy supply shrugged his shoulders.

"Oh yeah, Myrtle." Hermione suddenly said "when you left the Deathday party, did you see anything or anyone?"

"i heard someone outsider the bathroom," the ghost said in a pitiful tone "but when i wanted to check who it was i heard Filch cursing at me" suddenly she burst into tears and flew into the toilet of a nearby cubicle sending the water flying up and out of the bowl.

"she's got a screw loose" Ron whispered

"did you see anything that night Kiba?" Hermione suddenly asked with a whisper

"no, i took a little detour after the feast. I think i did see Mrs Norris running somewhere on the first floor" Kiba replied but Hermione didn't look like she fully believed him. But then her eyes met his hazal ones and she froze. Those eyes screamed terror, bloodlust and pain, but all she saw was truthfulness and sincerity. He stepped closer to Hermione and brought his nose so close to hers that they almost touched. Hermione cheeks quickly began changing their hue due to the rapid increase of heat. She wheeze slightly through her mouth as she admired every feature on the angel liked perfect gave before her "I'm not in any trouble, 'mione. Don't worry so much about me" he said with a smile as he took a step back.

"i can't really help it. I'm just glad that you're okay" she said. The girl was trapped in the web of Kiba's charm, and there was no escaping it now, not even if she tried. The falsely depicted emotions the boy had shown with a simple glance would allow him to swing any situation in his favour.

Later that night the four Gryffindor were huddled around a circular table in the common room whispering about the Chamber of Secrets. Percy however reminded them of the bedtime that was approaching the second years. This didn't sit well with Ron and he slumped down in a bad mood "don't worry about him," Harry said quietly "we should focus on who opened the chamber of Secrets"

"i agree, we need to find out who 'the heir of Slytherin' is. Only makes you wonder, who would attack Filch and threaten all the Muggle-Borns in the school?"

"there's really only one person in contention" the three turned their heads to Kiba in confusion. This was the moment, the one chance he had to blame someone else for the attack on Filch "Draco" he said. Hermione seemed sceptical but Harry and Ron jumped right onto Kiba's side

"of course!" Ron shouted as he smacked his own forehead

"it makes perfect sense," Harry added "Draco had shown on many occasions how much her hates Muggle-Borns"

"Besides, you've met his father right?" Kiba asked, both boys nodded and Hermione did too but slowly

"it does fit exceptionally well" she said "but we can't be sure we have to force him to tell us"

"right! Let's go torture the brat!" Ron said but he was quickly calmed down by the others "but what's the plan then? We can't walz into the Slytherin common room and ask him"

"we'll figure something out" Hermione added. The sheer satisfaction that the Parselmouth felt was indescribable. He had easily convinced them to suspect Draco and led them onto a false trail. If the heir played his cards right further then he could go the entire year without being discovered. All he had to do now was occasionally help the other three to not seem suspicious, and all could end well.