Unique (Hermione x M! OC)

14. The Chamber of Secrets

At dinner, we all sit at the table, but Harry hasn't shown up yet. "What's taking him so long?" Hermione asks.

"He's helping Lockhart respond to fanmail." Ron shrugs.

"What?!" Me and Hermione practically shout.

"Yeah, that's what Lockhart does for detention, apparently. I mean, it might make Harry think twice before letting me drive again, I have to clean the trophies. I'll tell you, I'd take Lockhart's detention over mine any day of the week."

"I usually get put with Snape." I sigh. "He actually isn't that bad, just makes you write sentences."

"You're the only Gryffindor who he respects, that's why." Ron objects.

"Maybe." I shrug, "But if you're done, why isn't Glasses out of detention yet?"

"Let's go check on him." Hermione decides.

"Why?" Ron asks, sarcastically, "Is it because you wanna see Lockhart again?"

Hermione blushes, but shakes her head, "No, because Harry could be in trouble." It doesn't take long to find him, but we find him mid panic attack. He looks at us like he hasn't seen a fellow human in years. "Harry!" Hermione says with concern.

"Did you hear it?" He asks.

"Hear what?" Ron demands.

"That... voice."

"Voice?" I ask, cautiously, "What voice?"

Harry's eyes dart around, "I heard it first in Lockhart's office and then again, just --" He looks up as if someone were speaking, "It's moving. I think it's going to... kill." He runs off. I look cautiously at Hermione, and we follow him down several hallways, through some doors, down some stairs and down another hallway, Then we stop and my heart drops.

"'The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir beware'" I read.

"It's written in blood." Hermione adds.

"What's that hanging below it?" Ron squeaks.

Harry answers, "It's Filch's cat; Mrs. Norris." I shift my attention a few paces right, where a line of spiders scuttle up a web and climb through a crack in the window.

"Look at that. Have you ever seen spiders act like that?" Hermione asks.

"No." I whisper. "It's..." I look for the right word to say, "...peculiar." I decide.

"I don't like spiders." Ron whimpers. Then the hallway comes to life as a crowd soon gathers around us.

"Enemies of the heir, beware! You'll be next, Mudbloods!" A familiar voice hisses, I turn to see Draco with a big bruise on his swollen jaw, staring Hermione down and I clench my fist. A hand grabs mine and I turn to see Hermione shaking her head.

"What's going on here? Go on now! Make way..." A voice says. Filch. He stops dead in his tracks, "Mrs. Norris!" He glares at Harry, and grabs him by the tie, "You! You've murdered my cat! I'll kill you! I'll --"

"Argus!" A voice calls. Dumbledore. "Argus, I-" He freezes, reading "Everyone will proceed to their dormitories immediately. Everyone except you four." He looks at me, Hermione, Ron and Harry. As the hall empties, Dumbledore takes Mrs. Norris off the hook gently.

Lockhart looks at it, "It was definitely a curse that killed her -- probably the Transmogrifian Torture. Encountered it myself once, in Ouagadougou. The full story's in my autobiography..."

"She's not dead, Argus. She's been Petrified." Dumbledore says.

"Precisely! So unlucky I wasn't there. I know the very countercurse that could have spared her..."

"I bet you do." I mutter.

"But how she's been Petrified... I cannot say." Dumbledore sighs.

Filch points at Harry, "Ask him! It's him that's done it. You saw what he wrote on the wall! Besides, he knows I'm -- I'm a Squib."

"It's not true, sir! I swear! I never touched Mrs. Norris -- And I don't even know what a Squib is." Harry states.

"A muggle born from wizards." I explain quickly.

"That's bloody rubbish, he didn't know! He saw my Kwikspell letter!"

"If I might, Headmaster..." Snape pitches in, seemingly appearing out of the shadows. "Perhaps Potter and his friends were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time..." The others blink in surprise, and Snape goes on, "However, the circumstances are suspicious. I, for one, don't recall seeing Potter at dinner."

"I'm afraid that's my doing, Severus. You see, Harry was helping me answer my fan mail..." Snape looks at Lockhart with a face of disgust and the DADA teacher trails off.

"That's why we went looking for him." Hermione explains, "We'd just found him when Harry said..." She trails off much like her idol.

"Yes, Ms. Granger?" Snape asks, an eyebrow raised.

I'm about to cover for her but I get cut off. "When I said I wasn't hungry. We were heading back to the Common Room and... found Mrs. Norris." Harry lies. Snape can tell he's lying, as does Dumbledore, and they both eye him. Should've just let me lie, idiot.

"Innocent until proven guilty." Dumbledore decides.

"My cat has been Petrified! I want to see some punishment!" Filch objects.

"We will be able to cure her, Argus. As I understand it, Madam Sprout has a very healthy growth of Mandrakes. When they have matured, a potion will be made which will revive Mrs. Norris. In the meantime, I advise caution. To all." Dumbledore says, grimly.

"Mr. Hedrich, I need a hand with something. The rest of you, off to bed." Snape says, then looks at Hermione with fake distaste. "He'll be up momentarily, if you'd unhand him." I look down and see that Hermione is still holding my hand, and I feel a blush creep onto my face, I squeeze her hand gently before she lets go and I smile softly at her before heading off after Snape, "I take it that you two still aren't together?"

"We're just friends."

"If you say so." Snape opens the door, "Sorry I couldn't make your birthday." He says, closing the door, "I would've lost credibility with my house if I'd been seen, and that credibility is something I've built up for many years, but I wanted to give you this." He grabs something from under his desk and plots it on one of the tables. A little box. I open it to find an old pocket watch, a snake insignia engraved into it. "It was my mother's before it was mine, and her mother's before that. I was an only child, so it passed down to me. I won't have a kid to give it down to, so I wanted you to have it." He turns away, "I know it isn't as... glamorous as it could've been, but I think-"

"I love it." I say. He turns, "Thank you."

For the first time in... I think ever, he has a full-fledged smile on his face. "You're welcome." He says. I move to leave, "Oh," I stop, "I bought you and Granger's book yesterday. It was exquisite, especially for young authors such as yourselves. It's amazing, you two have chemistry together in almost everything you do."

I blush, "Thanks, Professor Snape." He nods and I rush toward Gryffindor room, getting through and spotting Hermione with a book, under our blanket, watching a movie on the sofa with Shakespeare in her lap. "Hey."

"Hey yourself." She says, "You weren't long."

"No, it was something quick."

"Stop." The movie disappears, "Well come on then, this won't finish itself." I smile before I join her on the couch, leaning on Hermione's shoulder. After a few minutes of her reading, she stops, "I like you a lot, Sammy."

"I like you too, Golden. You're the best friend I've ever had." Did I just -- fuck.

"...yeah." She looks back at the book and sighs, "Yeah."