A/N This chapter will contain 'Chamber of Secrets' only. Enjoy!

"Oh my..."

"I know," I said with a huff.

Angelina gestured rather crudely, "Are you sure you weren't hexed or something? It's pretty drastic."

I glared at her, "No, I asked gran and she said we're very blessed in that department."

Alicia giggled, "I wouldn't be so sad about it, Edith. Most girls would kill for a bit more up top." She glanced down at her own flat chest with a sigh, "I know I sure would."

I slumped further in my seat. I'd taken a a bit of a growing spurt this past summer, much to my annoyance. My bra size had changed three times and while I had known what puberty was, I'd been expecting that I'd been done growing in that area. I was only fourteen, but I'd been hopeful and happy about my C cup. It seemed that once my feet stepped off of the Hogwarts Express, my body had gained a mind of its own. Gran merely commented that I was finally becoming a woman and I was not happy about it. My period had started last year- a little later than everyone else. I guess the rest of my body was trying to catch up as well. In protest, I'd chopped my hair off to my shoulders. The dark blonde strands were barely grazing the tops of them and it wasn't until I'd arrived at school that I remembered I needed to be able to pull it back for Quidditch. On the bright side, I had grown one inch taller, but I was still the shortest girl in my year. It was ridiculous.

I finished putting my robes in place and sat back down in my seat, "Enough about me, how was your summers?"

The door to the compartment opened then and a familiar head popped inside, "You girls haven't seen my youngest brother around, have you?"

"Sorry," Alicia replied. "He hasn't come by here."

George groaned, "Hermione has us all looking. Said Harry is missing too."

I stood up to my feet then, "Do you need help? They can't have gone far on a train obviously."

"I'd be delighted to have you by my side, darling," Fred piped up beside his brother while shoving the door open wider.

I almost blinked when I realized that the twins had also taken a bit of a growing spurt this summer. Both of them were a couple of inches taller than last year and they'd grown their hair out a bit. It was brushing the tops of their ears now.

"I'm sure you two can manage on your own," I muttered before taking my seat again.

"Oh, they'll be fine," Fred stated while taking a seat across from me. "We'll just join you girls."

George sat down by his brother with a grin, "Anything interesting happen this summer?"

"Not to me, but I have a feeling you both have a story to tell," Angelina commented wryly.

"Whatever could she mean by that Gred?"

The brother shrugged, "No idea, Forge. It's not as if we flew a Muggle car to rescue Harry Potter or anything."

My mouth dropped in surprise, "You did what?!"

"Ah, be a little quieter, Aggie dear, my ears are ringing," Fred stated while shaking his head. When I merely glared, he grinned, "Yep. His Muggle uncle was apparently holding him hostage and everything. He wasn't able to write to anyone all summer."

"Poor Harry," Alicia said sympathetically.

"That must be why Neville said he wasn't getting a response from him," I realized. "He was a bit bummed by it, but said the others were writing back just fine."

"Doesn't Harry's family want him to have friends?" Angelina asked.

George shrugged, "I dunno. Didn't get a chance to ask them when we left out Harry's window. They didn't seem very friendly judging by their faces."

"Got a bit of practice with the Muggle method of breaking and entering though," Fred added cheerfully.

...

We arrived at the feast and there was a bit of chatter that Harry Potter and Ron Weasley hadn't been on the train with the rest of us. Neville and Hermione were besides themselves with worry. Then the rumors of a car crashing into the Whomping Willow began making their way around the room. The twins had seen it as a proud moment that their brother had managed such a feat, and I was just thankful my brother wasn't involved. I shuddered to think of what would happen otherwise.

Our first morning at Hogwarts we patiently waited for the mail.

"Mail's due any minute," Neville told Harry, "I think Gran's sending a few things I forgot."

I hoped so, or else Neville would be wearing pants that didn't quite go over his ankles until I could get a letter to her. I'd laid out his new trousers for him to place in his trunk and he'd still managed to bring the old pairs.

Soon enough, the owls started rushing inside the Great Hall. There was a loud commotion as every hurried to grab their letters and packages. My own small package landed in front of me, along with a hefty one in front of Neville. I made a mental note to thank Gran in my next letter.

There was a small crash on the table as one of the owls landed awkwardly on its back. Clutching a red envelope in it's beak.

"Oh, no," Ron gasped.

Hermione carefully reached for the owl, "It's all right, he's still alive."

He shook his head, "It's not that- it's that."

I shrunk away from them on instinct. Howlers were not fun. I'd gotten one my second term when I'd joined Quidditch without letting Gran know I'd tried out. She wanted me to focus more on studies. Neville got one last year after his explosion in Potions.

Neville had just filled them in on that fact when Harry asked, "What's a Howler?"

No one quite knew how to explain it and Ron looked sick as the letter began to smoke a little.

"Open it," Neville urged. "It'll all be over in a few minutes."

Taking a breath, Ron reached for it and opened it. Neville and I both plugged our ears automatically.

The letter exploded in a shouting rant that had everyone cringing around the great Hall. I'd never met the Weasley's mom- only seen her from a distance, but I'd become very afraid of her suddenly. Obviously I should've known it would take a scary woman to deal with the twins.

When the message was over, it burst into flames and everything got really quiet. Then the laughs began before everyone started talking again.

"Glad it wasn't us this time," I heard George comment to Lee. "The last one nearly burst my eardrum."

I snorted at that and told Neville, "Still scary even when it's someone else, eh?"

"I dunno. I still hear Gran's voice ringing in my ears," he shuddered.

...

"Accio quill!"

My feather immediately flew from my hand where I was trying to write notes from Professor Flitwick's lecture. I groaned in annoyance and glared back at Fred, who grinned while waving my feather in the air tauntingly.

He'd been doing that since he mastered the spell after only two tries. It was quite annoying honestly to see that he hadn't lost his knack for Charms' class. While I loved Charms and had always done well in it, I was having trouble with it for some stupid reason.

"Don't look so down, Aggie, dear," Fred told me cheerfully, "I can tutor you if you want."

I scowled, "I don't need tutoring from you. Accio quill!" I practically shouted, waving my wand in his direction.

To my surprise, the quill did return to me. Along with every quill in the room. I squeaked in surprise, ducking in my seat to avoid being stuck like a porcupine. They all landed against the wall behind me and I heard a few snickers in the classroom.

"Well done!" Professor Flitwick praised me, "A little less force perhaps though, Miss Longbottom."

Fred beamed at me, "She's a natural, isn't she?"

I felt my face heat up, "Sorry, professor."

There was a small knock at the door and Penelope Clearwater stuck her head in.

"Sorry to interrupt, Professor Flitwick, but I've come to let Edith know her brother is in the infirmary again."

I felt my shoulders drop a bit, "What happened this time?"

She grimaced, "Something about falling from a chandelier during Defense Against the Dark Arts class."

...

"Would you stop running, "Alicia hissed at me. "You're going to get in trouble, Edith."

I scowled, but didn't slow down, "I don't care. He released pixies on the whole classroom and then was going to leave them there. What kind of teacher does that?"

"I get what you're saying, but there's nothing you can do."

I paused at the door to the classroom and huffed, "We'll just see about that, won't we?"

I strode inside and winced at the disarray of things. Clearly Professor Lockhart hadn't yet cleaned the mess from the second year's class as of yet. There were papers everywhere and desks turned over. I cast a glare at the chandelier above my head and marched up the steps to the professor's private office.

"Edith-"

I ignored her and pounded on the doorway.

To my surprise, it opened almost immediately. The professor seemed surprised to see the both of us standing there judging by the stressed look on his face, but he quickly recovered and plastered a wide smile.

"Girls, what a surprise. Anything I can do for you? An autograph, perhaps?"

I blinked at him slowly, "No. Professor, I'm Edith Longbottom and I'm here about my brother, Neville-'

He waved his hand in the air, "Ah, yes, the lad who had a bit of a tumble earlier."

"A tumble?" I squinted my eyes a bit, "He would never have fallen if you hadn't let those stupid things loose in the classroom! He could've gotten seriously hurt."

"From a little pixie?" He laughed, "Dear girl, they're practically harmless. Madam Pomfrey assured me that he would be right as rain."

I clenched my hands into fists, "But what if it hadn't been alright? You're supposed to be teaching him to defend himself not letting him be preyed upon by a something that should be handled by our Care of Magical Creatures teacher!"

Unfortunately, I'd chosen the exact wrong moment to let loose my frustrations. Almost as soon as the words left my mouth, there was an appalled gasp behind me.

"Miss Longbottom, how dare you speak to a Professor in that tone!"

I immediately felt the blood rush from my face and turned to see Professor McGonagall standing there with a stern expression. I felt Alicia shrink beside me in response. I could practically hear her thinking 'I told you so'.

"Well?" Professor McGonagall prompted, "What do you have to say for yourself?"

I swallowed, "I'm sorry, I was just-"

"Ah, there's no problem here," Professor Lockhart said while patting my head, "Just a sister taking up for her brother. I was just explaining to her that poor Nelson will be just fine." He winked down at me, "It was just a misunderstanding, right Miss Longbottom?"

I'd started to protest, but Alicia subtly elbowed me in the side.

I groaned and quickly agreed, "Right. Though I do apologize for my raised voice, Professor."

Professor McGonagall quirked a brow, "Misunderstanding or not, you will serve a detention for this, Miss Longbottom. And I'll be taking away five points from Gryffindor."

I felt my shoulders drop at this.

...

Tap...tap...tap...

"What's that noise?" I grumbled, tightening the pillow over my head.

There was a bit of shuffling around before Alicia responded, "There's something at the window. Looks like a paper bird of some sort."

I buried myself further in my bed, not impressed the least with whatever magic someone made. I'd almost dozed back off when there was a loud groan.

"Wood's sent us a message. He wants us to have practice right now."

I sat up immediately, "You're bloody joking."

Alicia waved the paper with a yawn, "Nope, says so right here. We all need to get up and ready."

"I'm going to kill him," Angelina scowled while climbing out of her bed. "No one would miss him."

"Edith would," Alicia reminded her with a bit of a grimace. "Although, she does look a little like she wants to strangle him."

I huffed while getting to my feet, "This does make him a little less attractive. Come on, let's hurry before we're late."

After getting dressed, we all made our way down to the pitch. I could tell from the expressions of the others that no one was excited about being woken up so early this morning. After we pulled on our fear, I sat down on the bench while we waited for the meeting to get on the way. Fred and George sat on the bench with me while Angelina and Alicia both took a seat across from us. The only one missing was Harry, who stumbled in only a minute or so later.

"There you are, Harry, what kept you?" Wood asked loudly.

My head fell back against the wall with a thud that jerked myself awake and I quickly tried to stand at attention.

"Now, I wanted a quick talk with you all before we actually get onto the field..."

I'd never seen him so animated and boring at the same time. I'd always admired Oliver Wood for his dedication to the sport and for his ambition. But I really wanted to sleep. I was currently going back forth between glaring at him and glaring at Fred, who'd taken it upon himself to lay his head on my shoulder and snore.

"So is that clear? Any questions?"

"I've got a question, Oliver," George said after jerking awake. "Why couldn't you have told us all this yesterday when we were awake?"

Wood scowled, "Now, listen here, you lot. We should have won that Quidditch Cup last year. We're easily the best. But unfortunately- owing to circumstances beyond our control-"

I saw Harry shuffle uncomfortably. The poor guy had been in the hospital wing during our last match. We'd obviously lost- badly. No one blamed him of course, but clearly it was still a sore subject for Wood.

Wood took a deep breath and started again, "So this year, we train harder than ever before...Okay, let's go and put our new theories into practice!"

He strode out the door without further delay.

We all got to our feet unwillingly and stretched to wake ourselves up.

Fred rubbed his neck, "Aggie dear, we need to put some meet on your bones. Your shoulder does not make a good pillow."

"Perhaps you shouldn't fall asleep during practice," I told him. "Some of us had to stay awake, you know."

"Well next time you can sleep on my shoulder," he told me while looping his arm through mine.

I protested, "Fred-"

He merely laughed and dragged me out of the locker room.

The practice begun with the twins racing Harry around the stadium a bit. Angelina and I took turns diving with Alicia in a pairing formation. Things seemed to be fine until we noticed a group of Slytherin players making their way onto the field.

"Oh no," Alicia said. "That looks like trouble."

We all landed and walked towards the groups who seemed to arguing over who was allowed there. The girls and I stood side by side with the guys, and I cringed at the sneer on Flint's face.

"But I booked the field!" Wood claimed. "I booked it!"

"But I've got a specially signed note here from Professor Snape," Flint taunted. "I, Professor Snape, give the Slytherin team permission to practice today on the Quidditch field owing to the need to train their new Seeker."

We all started at this news.

"You've got a new Seeker?" Asked Wood. "Where?"

As if already planning ahead, the group of boys parted revealing a rather small boy with very blonde hair and a smirking face.

Fred stiffened beside me, "Aren't you Lucius Malfoy's son?"

Ugh, I groaned internally.

"Funny you should mention Draco's father," Said Flint while grinning. "Let me show you the generous gift he's made to the Slytherin team."

Broomsticks were being held out to us and I felt my stomach sink at the sight of them. The beautiful glossy handles shone in the sunlight and I wanted to thump the little brat in the nose for securing these for the team. I'd begged Gran for one of them when I saw them out in Diagon Alley, but she'd shook her head and purchased me a Nimbus 2000 instead. While I was glad to have a new broom to start the season out, I was still jealous.

Flint rambled on for a moment before taking a shot at the twins with, "As for the old Cleansweeps, sweeps the board with them."

I could see them both tense up at the jab.

"You wouldn't know had you not taken charity from a snot nosed boy," I told him. "Guess your family really has gone down hill these days, hasn't it?"

His face darkened at this and I saw him take a step forwards, which I ignored only because the twins both stepped towards him at the same time. For a moment I was worried a fight would break out but then Ron and Hermione joined us, inquiring as to what happened. I heard Malfoy boasting about the brooms, again downing the Cleansweep Fives.

"At least no one on the Gryffindor team had to buy their way in," Hermione told him. "They got in on pure talent."

I snickered at that, glad for the girl's quickness.

But then Draco spat, "No one asked your opinion, you filthy little Mudblood."

It was chaos.

Fred and George both moved at once towards the boy, and Flint dove in the way. Draco merely laughed at them struggling against each other and I'd barely caught a glimpse of Hermione's tear filled eyes when Ron was shouting a spell with his wand.

Only the spell didn't seem to work correctly. He was blast backwards in the grass. No one moved while Ron struggled to get to his feet and let out a loud belch. Along with large slugs.

I squealed a the sight, stepping back as if it were contagious. Harry and Hermione quickly got him to his feet, saying someone about taking him to Hagrid's. The Slytherins were roaring with laughter, falling over themselves in fits.

"Too bad he's not on your team, Wood," Flint snickered while leaning against his broom. "That would make for entertainment."

"Shut up and train your new Seeker," Wood bit back. "Back to the locker room, everyone."

When everyone begrudgingly moved to follow orders, I couldn't help but glance at the Malfoy boy. He was still positively beaming at the turn of events.

"Be sure and teach him some manners," I told Flint. "He won't win a game with that mouth of his."

He smirked, "Why don't you teach me what a mouth can do first?"

My mouth dropped open in shock. I'd always known he was a pig, but the nerve of-

There was a bit of shouting and George Weasley dove forward, landing a punch to the side of Marcus Flint's face. I saw Wood and Angelina struggling to hold Fred back, who looked as if he were struggling to get his wand from his robes.

"Watch your mouth!" he told Flint angrily.

"Mr. Weasley," a snide voice called out. "Save all of that anger for the game." The sight of Professor Snape had all of us cringing, except for the Slytherins.

George pointed at Flint, "Professor he-"

"I don't want to hear any lies," he sneered. "Twenty points Gryffindor. Detention tonight in the Potions Classroom. You and Miss Longbottom can clean this weeks worth of cauldrons." Before I could be appalled, he added, "Professor McGonagall wanted me to relay the message to you. Seven o'clock- don't be late."

We were clearly dismissed.

...

There was a bit of a crashing noise followed by a quiet, "Oh, no."

I rounded the corner of the hallway to see a small girl there, clearly struggling to gather her things up. At first I was convinced the poor girl just tripped, until I saw a couple of students snickering while walking away from her. Both of them were wearing Ravenclaw robes and looked to be about her age.

Kneeling down beside her, I asked, "Are they in your year?"

The girl, who had a very prominent shade of red in her hair, looked up at me with tear filled eyes, "Yes. They don't like me very much."

"No one likes them either," I assured her while helping her put her books in her bag. "First years are always a little annoying at the start of term, but don't take it personally. You just need to befriend someone older." I smiled slightly, "Although I'm sure you brothers do count, you know. You're Ginny Weasley, aren't you?"

Ginny's shoulder dropped a bit more to my surprise, "It's the hair, isn't it?"

I laughed, "That and the Gryffindor robes. They go hand in hand, you know." We both got to our feet and I held my hand out to her, "I'm Edith Longbottom. I'm in the same year as-"

"The twins," she brightened up. "Yes, I know, Fred talks about you all the time." She ducked her head shyly as if remembering she shouldn't say such a thing.

"So I've been told," I mused. "Do you want to walk to supper together?"

She smiled, "Sure."

...

"This stinks," I complained while scrubbing a cauldron. "Why can't we use magic?"

George chuckled, "I think that would defeat the purpose to detention, Aggie."

We'd been here for almost an hour now, scrubbing at these stupid things. We were close to being done of course, but my hands were starting to hurt.

I paused my scrubbing and asked him, "Hey George, how come you threw that punch at Flint? It was just a stupid insult- not nearly as bad as what he called Hermione."

"With six boys to raise, my mum really enforced in us how to treat a girl with respect," he said. "I would've done the same for the others, but I acted quickly because I was scared Fred might actually do something worthy of expulsion."

I wasn't sure what to say at this, but I could feel my face warming a bit.

George smirked at me, "You know, it's not just a crush thing for Fred, Edith. He thinks you've hung the sun- or however that Muggle expression goes."

"I don't know why," I admitted. "Fred's a good bloke- I'd be a stupid to think otherwise. But I don't think I've done anything special to get his attention."

He shrugged, placing his last cauldron on the table, "You'd have to ask him about it. But changing the subject, what do you think Angelina thinks of me?"

...

Halloween soon arrived and the feast was much more enjoyable than usual. I had an extreme log for all things pumpkin flavored and I'd stowed some snacks for later. Neville was in good spirits tonight, but he wasn't present at the feast. He and his friends were going to some private party for Nearly Headless Nick. I wasn't too excited about it at first, but he seemed happy that they'd included him.

"I still say we need to fit in extra practices before the first game," Wood argued from the end end of the table.

Angelina glared at him, "We're all tired as it is. If you keep pushing us, we won't have to strength to sit on the brooms, much less hold the Quaffle."

I rubbed my arms absent mindedly at that. My biceps had been burning since the last practice.

"I have some salve for that," Fred told me, with a mouth full of cake. "Good for aches of the muscles."

I smiled a bit at his thoughtfulness, "I'd actually appreciate that, Fred. Thanks."

"Oi, I can give you some pointers, Ange," George told her while flexing an arm. "I hardly feel the aches anymore."

She quirked a brow at him, "Uh, maybe another time."

Alicia snickered next to me, "Poor sap."

Fred shook his head at his twin and joked, "You have to be more in tune to a bird's feelings, Forge. Say things like 'You're so beautiful that I don't even mind that smear of icing on the tip of your nose.'" He winked at me slyly.

For a moment I laughed, and then quickly grabbed at my nose to feel the said icing. I felt my face heat up ion embarrassment and quickly wiped it off. Alicia laughed at me while elbowing my side.

"Shut up," I muttered to her.

After dinner, we all left out of the Great Hal to head back to our dormitories. But we stopped when we saw Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Neville standing in what looked like some water. Hanging on the wall, was a dead cat and there was blood written there.

"Oh, Merlin," I felt my entire body go cold at once.

"The Chamber of Secrets Has Been Opened. Enemies of the Heir, Beware."

"Enemies of the heir, Beware!" Malfoy read with a laugh, "You'll be next, Mudbloods!"

I was so shocked that I couldn't even find it in me to snap at him. No one could. We were all frozen.

"What's going on here? What's going on?" The loud screech of Filch sounded.

He pushed his way to the front and let out a horrible scream.

"My cat! My cat! What's happened to Mrs. Norris?"

He turned to the four standing there.

"You! You've murdered my cat, you've killed her!"

I moved out of instinct, grabbing Neville quickly pulling him to me. Whatever had happened, I knew he couldn't have been involved. I wouldn't believe it.

Dumbledore walked up to the wall, studying everything quietly. He grabbed the stiff cat from the wall and turned to the care taker.

"Come with me, Argus. You too, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Miss Granger, Mr. Longbottom."

I was reluctant to let my brother go, but he swallowed hard and stepped away from me, "I'll be fine, Edith. I haven't done anything wrong," he assured me.

"I know you haven't," I quickly replied. "I'll be in the dormitory waiting for you."

Neville nodded at this and walked away with the others.

A hand landed on my shoulder and squeezed, "It'll be okay, Aggie." I glanced up at him and Fred flashed a small smile, "He's with Harry- they won't get punished."

"I hope you're right," I sighed.

Angelina grabbed my arm, "Come on, let's all walk together."

...

"What do you supposed Malfoy meant by his statement?" Alicia asked.

We'd gathered around the fire in the common room while waiting for the four students to return. Fred and George were playing a game of snapdragon, but I could tell they weren't in good spirits about it.

"About the muggleborns?" I asked her. When she nodded, I shrugged, "There's a small passage about the chamber in Hogwarts: A History that the Slytherin founder was rumored to have built. Maybe that's what he meant? That enemies of Slytherin were in trouble."

George glanced up at that, "Yeah, but there isn't anybody alive connected with his family. That line would've died out years ago."

I shrugged, "Maybe. But I don't know why anyone would want to hurt Flich's cat. The thing is annoying, but still..."

"I bet it was just a prank," Angelina said. "A seventh year Ravenclaw girl said the cat was petrified- not dead. So they didn't want to actually kill it."

It made sense, I guess. But the whole thing was still strange.

...

For the next few weeks, it was all anyone could talk about. There'd been many rumors flowing around over the possible 'heir' and none had seemed plausible. The most surprising rumor had been regarding Harry, which was a bit ridiculous. The boy defeated a dark lord before he was even potty trained. There was no way he was guilty. Another one was Malfoy, which had turned my stomach. No one that cruel should have power like that.

It was the first match of the season. No one had been looking forward to playing Slytherin on their new fancy brooms, but most of all Harry. It was no secret that the seekers didn't like each other. it seemed as if the stands were fuller than usual. Probably due to the fact Lucius Malfoy's son was playing. I'd heard he was supposed to be here himself.

Wood cleared his throat, "Slytherin has better brooms than us. No point denying it. But we've got better people on our brooms. We've trained harder than they have, we've been flying in all weathers,-"

"too true," George grumbled," I haven't been properly dry since August."

"-and we're going to make them rue the day they let that little bit of slime, Malfoy, buy his way onto their team." He took a deep breath and turned to Harry, "It'll be down to you, Harry, to show them that a Seeker has to have something more than a rich father. Get to that Snitch before Malfoy or die trying, Harry, because we've got to win today, we've got to."

"So no pressure Harry," said Fred with a wink.

I elbowed the kid, "You don't really have to die trying- getting maimed will be good enough."

He huffed, "Gee, thanks."

We all gathered onto the pitch, glaring at the Slytherins across from us. You could feel the tension in the circle and I actually started to feel nervous.

"On my whistle, " said madam Hooch," Three, two...one."

The whistle sounded and we all took off for the sky. It was brutal. We were having a touch time keeping up with the chasers and Slytherin scored a few shots while we've stayed at a big fat zero. It was raining. Fred and George had stuck by Harry's side for some reason that didn't make sense.

Surprisingly George signaled for a time out which Wood quickly called. We landed on the ground, and I was close enough to hear George explain that that something was going on with one of the bludgers. it had apparently been attracted to Harry the entire time. Harry finally cut in, demanding that they leave the bludger to him and to focus on the game while he hunted the snitch.

"Oliver this is insane," Alicia growled. "You can't let Harry deal with that thing on his own. let's ask for an inquiry-"

"If we stop now, we'll have to forfeit the match!" said Harry. "And we're not losing to Slytherin just because of a crazy Bludger! Come on, Oliver, tell them to leave me alone!"

I grabbed his shoulder, "Harry, we were just joking earlier. We don't want you hurt over some stupid-"

"Ready to resume play?" Madam Hooch finally approached us with an expectant brow lifted.

Wood seemed torn, but nodded, "All right. Fred, George, you heard Harry, leave him alone and let him deal with the Bludger on his own."

The twins were pissed when we took to the sky again. I tried to keep an eye on Harry while I could, but he was flying all over the place trying to loose to Bludger and look for the Snitch. Slytherin was still out flying us and Pucey knocked the Quaffle from my hand the second I was able to get it. Before I could regroup, I caught a glance at Harry flying next to Malfoy.

I saw a flash and shouted, "Harry, watch-"

The Bludger smacked into his elbow and I saw him sway on his broom. I darted forward, hoping to reach him in case he fell off. Crazily enough, he went towards Malfoy instead and was going towards the ground. I reached him just in time to grab ahold of his arm, the broken one from the sound of his yell.

"Sorry," I winced, "Hold on Harry, I've got you."

I lowered us to the ground and we both sank into the mud. His broom landed beside us with a splash.

He held up his good hand and muttered, "Aha. We've won."

And then he fainted.

"Harry!" I exclaimed in surprise, slapping his shoulder a bit.

The adults were surrounding us now and I grabbed the Snitch, quickly handing it to Madam Hooch. She declared us the winners and the Slytherins were shouting in annoyance.

Angelina patted my back, "Nice catch there, Edith. I thought Harry was a goner."

"I think I probably made his arm worse," I winced, "But maybe I saved him from a concussion."

Harry had finally come around, just as Lockhart tried to help the situation. I saw the twins wrestling with the Bludger, trying to get it locked up in the box. I slung my wet hair from my face and huffed.

"What a fucking mess this was."

...

It was all over school that Colin Creevey had been petrified. It was a solemn feeling to know that our Housemate, a first year, had been attacked. It had made no sense, but we had to face the truth that something sinister was going on. Creevey was a Muggleborn. And they said he'd been petrified the same way the cat had been. That meant it was possible others would follow.

"There's no need for you to worry," I told Neville in the common room. "You're a pureblood. There's no reason to think you would be targeted."

He swallowed at that, "Yeah, but Hermione isn't. Do you think she's in danger."

My heart broke at the fear in his voice for his friend, "I don't know, Nev. You lot should just stick together, alright?"

He nodded. Neville looked as if he had more to say, but he quickly went off to join the others.

"He'll be okay," a voice said from behind me.

I turned to see Fred leaning at the bottom of the stairs to the boys dormitory.

I grimaced, "Is your brother worried as well?"

"My sister," he replied. "She and the boy were friends. She's been distraught since she heard the news. We've been trying to cheer her up, but it's not working."

I quirked a brow at him, "Was that what all the silly dressing up was about? I don't think scaring her will do anything, Fred."

He grinned, "I was going for distraction. Got you noticing, didn't it?"

"I'd gotten a bit excited thinking someone had hexed you until I realized it had to be your own doing." I admitted, "You and George have a knack for impossible things sometimes."

Fred clutched his chest dramatically, "Aggie, was that a compliment? I might actually faint."

"Shut it," I laughed.

...

"Potter is a parselmouth?" I asked in shock.

The latest news was flying around Hogwarts. In a disastrous attempt at starting a dueling club by Lockhart, Harry Potter had shocked everyone by appearing to charm a snake into trying to attack Justin Finch-Fletchey, a Hufflepuff Muggleborn.

Neville's cheeks puffed up in a bit of anger, "It's not what you think! Harry would never do something like that. He didn't even know he was speaking it."

I sat down on my brother's bunk with a dreaded feeling, "But it doesn't matter. The whole school thinks he's related to Salazar Slytherin, Nev. Is he absolutely sure that he's-"

"How would he know?" he asked. "Harry doesn't really know much about his parents, remember? He was raised by those Muggles."

I had forgotten that. I supposed it could be plausible that he had an ability he hadn't known about. But the timing of it all was rather damning. While I knew that Harry would never hurt anyone- especially considering one of his best friends was a Muggleborn...others wouldn't be so easily convinced.

"You lot need to stick with him as much as you can," I warned my brother. "If he's not the heir- and I don't believe he is, he could be in trouble."

Neville shuffled his feet, "I've decided to stay here during Christmas break with them. Gran will be furious, but-"

I sighed, "You'll miss the visit."

He looked ashamed at that, "I know. But I think...I think they would understand. I need to help my friends."

I smiled at that. He'd grown so much since first year. I was proud of him.

"I'll deal with Gran," I told him. "Just be careful, okay?"

He grinned, "I promise."

...

I wasn't in good spirits when I went to visit my parents at St. Mungo's. Just before the term ended, Justin Finch-Fletchey was found petrified along with the Gryffindor ghost, Nearly Headless Nick. It was terrifying. What could be so powerful that it could harm a ghost? Neville still demanded he stay behind and nothing I could say would change his mind. Gran was especially sour about it. For the first couple of days, she barely spoke to me. Now I supposed she was trying to stay in good spirits now that we were at the hospital.

"Don't forget to tell them about all of your grades," she reminded me. "And speak well of Neville. They'll be disappointed that he's not here."

I didn't think they would notice, but I didn't tell her that.

We rounded the doorway to my parents room and paused, watching them for a moment. Mom was pulling a brush through her hair over and over again. Dad was moving pieces of a chessboard around on a table. Just moving them one piece at a time to a different square.

"I'll let you go in first," Gran whispered to me.

I walked inside, clearing my throat a bit, "Hello mom. Hello dad."

They both barely acknowledged my greeting, still in their own little world. I sat down on mum's bed, trying to catch her eye. It took a few moments before she did and then she smiled in a wistful sort of way.

"I missed you," I told her. "I brought something for you."

I reached into my robe pocket and pulled out a few strips of ribbon. I held them out to her carefully.

Mum took them from me and rubbed them against her cheek. She sighed happily and then set them down beside her, already bringing the brush towards me. I turned my back towards her and felt the brush go through my hair softly. She started humming a bit under her breath.

"Fourth year is going just fine," I rambled. "All of my classes are..."

...

My mood hadn't changed when I returned to Hogwarts. Neville had assured me that everything had been fine, although Hermione had ended up in the hospital due to an accident of some sort. Classes started back without difficulty and before we knew it, February had arrived.

Valentine's Day caused a bit or ruckus in the Great Hall, due to the fact everyone had mail flying every where. The many secret admirer notes were especially entertaining. I'd never seen so many flowers before and Professor Lockhart had made an announcement regarding cupid dressed dwarves. It was over the top, but fun. This was the least ridiculous thing the teacher had done so far.

It had been funny, watching the dwarves burst into random classrooms to give the Valentine's to the intended persons of admirers. I'd been looking over my shoulder multiple times today just to make sure none had made their way towards me.

"What do you keep checking for?" Angelina asked me. "You've looked behind yourself a dozen times today."

I shrugged, turning to scribble back on the parchment, "I'm nervous that one of those dwarves will come at me. Have you gotten one?"

She snorted, "No, but I received a rather obnoxious amount of roses during lunch today. It said 'secret admirer', but I'm almost positive it's from George."

"Why do you say that?" I asked.

Angelina giggled, "Because it was signed 'Weasley'. I know if can't be Fred, Ron doesn't even know what girls are, and I would be sick if it were Percy. It was an easy guess."

I laughed at that, noting that she didn't seem upset at the thought of George sending her flowers. Honestly, I had been surprised that I had received nothing today. Not that I was expecting it of course.

But it just so happened that my own dwarf had arrived while I was headed to my defense lesson. There, dressed in ridiculous red curtains that had been tied around his waste, was Fred Weasley holding a make shift sharp.

"Oi, shut it!" He shouted with a clear of his throat.

The chatter died down and I felt my face heat up in an instant when he dramatically started skipping towards me.

"My sweet Aggie, I shall not ask for your hand, nor shall your heart I demand," he sang, very off key. "I'm just a humble lad, though I'll be surely glad. If you'd accept these flowers here, I'll still be fond of you my dear."

He pulled a bouquet out from behind his back with a grin, holding it out to me while kneeling on one knee. The crowd in the hallway was watching, with a few snickers from the display. It had been rather comical and I'd started laughing so hard that tears filled my eyes.

"Fred Weasley, you're absolutely ridiculous," I told him through my giggles. I grabbed the flowers from him, watching his eyes light up. I started to walk away, but then paused. Everyone was still watching to see what would happen. Rolling my eyes, I turned back to Fred and leaned down to kiss his cheek.

There was the sound of applause that made my face heat up again.

Fred clutched his chest with a gasp, "Does this mean you've finally given up resisting me?"

"It means, thank you for the flowers," I told him before skipping away.

...

The big Quidditch match had arrived. We were playing Hufflepuff today for a chance at the cup and it was the perfect weather. We were all ready, about to head into the game when the most peculiar thing happened. The match was canceled by Professor McGonagall. She'd come and escorted Harry, Ron, and Neville from the pitch without much more explanation. We were all told to return to our common rooms.

"What do you think is going on?" I asked when we were back in Gryffindor tower.

Alicia shrugged, "I don't know. The prefects seem as lost as we are."

"They wouldn't have cancelled unless it was for a good reason," Wood grumbled.

Finally Professor McGonagall returned to the common room with my brother and the others. They all seemed in shock, and their faces were beyond sad. We all knew it was something serious then.

"I'm afraid there's been another attack," she said with sorrow in her voice. "Penelope Clearwater of Ravenclaw...and Hermione Granger."

There were multiple gasps of shock. Clearwater had been a prefect- and a halfblood at that. But Hermione...I felt like my throat was closing up a bit.

"I have some announcements to read to all of you so pay close attention," she continued...

...

Hogwarts was not the same. The next month or so drug by and things had greatly changed. They'd arrested the groundskeeper, Hagrid, and Dumbledore had been suspended from his Headmaster position. We were escorted to every class and to every meal. Quidditch was canceled. It was...

Awful.

"Hey Edith," George called to me. "You want to join us?"

I paused from where I'd been headed upstairs. Fred and George were setting up a game of exploding snap with Harry and Ron. Ginny was sitting with them, watching with a faraway look in her eyes. She'd been awfully sad lately and wasn't talking very much.

"Sure." I took a spot with them on the floor, seated between Fred and Harry. "No cheating though- I still have a scar on my knuckle from the last time."

Ginny cracked a smile at that.

We played for a few hours, most of the students had gone to bed. I was getting a little sleepy myself when Ginny fell asleep.

"We should wake her so she can go to bed," George said, already standing up to do so.

I waved him away, "It's fine, I can take her." I grabbed my wand and pointed at her, "Wingadrium Leviosa!"

Her body carefully moved up off of the sofa, letting her hair fall downwards.

"Look at you being brilliant," Fred whispered.

I snorted, "I'm just a witch. Goodnight everyone!"

I carefully took her upstairs to her rooms, keeping quiet not to wake her houseguests up. I moved her covers out of the way and my hand brushed up against something underneath her pillow. Curious, I pulled it out just as I levitated her onto the bed. I released my spell and looked at the black book in my hands. It was leather-bound, small. I opened it a bit, seeing nothing but blank parchment. Maybe it had some sort of spell cast to keep others from reading. Shrugging at that, I put the book back underneath her pillow.

...

"All students to return to their House dormitories at once. All teachers return to the staffroom. Immediately, please."

We were all huddled up in the common room, waiting for whatever news they were going to give us. No one knew what to say. We knew there had to have been another attack.

Professor McGonagall looked close to tears when she stood in front of us. It took her a few moments before she finally spoke.

"I'm afraid that we are going to have to shut down the school. You must all be ready to board the Hogwarts Express tomorrow." There was a hushed silence at this. She cleared her throat and admitted, "We've been informed- through a message left by the proclaimed heir- that they've taken a student directly into the chamber."

I felt my stomach sink at that. I glanced frantically around, trying to do a mental check or who wasn't here. But everyone was here, I told myself. No one is missing except-

"The student is Ginny Weasley," she finished, with a catch in her throat.

My hand covered my mouth in shock. Not Ginny. Not Fred's- I quickly looked at him. He was seated next to George and Ron, looking like a stone statue. He wasn't smiling, there was only blankness there.

Everyone had started to gather their things up. No one was speaking to each other. It was as if we'd all taken a vow of silence. Fred, George, Ron, and Harry were seated together in a corner. None of them had moved since McGonagall had left the room. There was utterly silence.

I'd walked up to them carefully, unsure of myself.

"I'm...I'm sorry," I told them softly. "If there's anything I can do..."

They didn't respond, but I didn't take it personal. I didn't know what I would do if something were to happen to Neville. Just the thought had caused tears to sting my eyes. I turned to walk away and was surprised by a hand grabbing my own. I looked at Fred, but his expression gave nothing away. Instead, I sat down beside him and squeezed his hand back.

...

The morning came far too early. Only there wasn't any tears or sadness. The news had spread all over that Harry, Ron, and Neville had gone into the Chamber of Secrets with Professor Lockhart and saved Ginny Weasley. It was the most incredible story and a feast was prepared in honor of it.

"I can't believe you did that," I told Neville, squeezing him in my arms again, "But I'm so proud of you."

He struggled to get out of my embrace, "Edith, stop it you're embarrassing me." I finally let him go and his face was so red it lit his ears up, "I didn't really do anything. I told you, Ron and I got separated from Harry. I never even saw the-"

I ruffled his hair, "I don't care. You still went down there willingly to fight the blasted thing." I grinned at him, "You really are a Gryffindor, you know."

Neville smiled at that.

I looked around the hall, watching everyone greet the ones who'd just become unpetrified. Words couldn't quite describe the happiness in the air. Ginny Weasley was being embraced by all of her brothers, all who seemed to be vying for her attention at once. She hadn't stopped grinning since she arrived. Fred looked up at see me watching them and he grinned, giving me a wave. I felt myself blush a bit, but wave back.

"It's okay to like him, you know," I heard Angelina mutter beside me. "It's quite obvious to everyone anyway."

I cleared my throat at that, "I have thought of writing to him this summer." I suddenly grabbed her arm, "Speaking of summer, how would you like to..."

This concludes Chamber of Secrets!