Harry and Amelia Potter

2.10

"It's a bit strange, isn't it?" Hermione asks us as we walk up the stairs towards Gryffindor Tower.

"Strange?" Harry questions.

"You hear this voice, a voice only you two can hear, and then Mrs. Norris turns up Petrified. It's just... strange."

"Do you think I should have told them? Dumbledore and the others, I mean?" I ask.

"Are you mad?" Ron asks me.

"Well, I'm starting to think so." I say, sending him a glare.

"No, Mia. Even in the wizarding world, hearing voices isn't a good sign." Hermione says.

"She's right, you know." One of the pictures tells Harry and I. Then we all make our way into the Common Room.

"What do you think it is?" I ask my brother as we sit by the fire, alone.

"I don't know. Why is it that we can only hear the voice?"

"I wonder." I mutter.

"What?" Harry questions.

"Remember the snake, from Dudleys birthday last year?" I ask him.

"Yeah, kind of hard to forget."

"What if most wizards can't talk to snakes? What if that's what we're hearing?"

"It did sound rather, snake-like." Harry agrees.

"Why is it always us?" I ask my brother, resting my head on his shoulder.

"I don't know, Mia. I don't know."

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"Could I have your attention, please?" Professor McGonagall asks her class as we sit in the Transfigurations room. "Right. Now, today, we will be transforming animals into water goblets. Like so. One, two, three, Vera verto." She taps her bird three times and turns it into a beautiful silver goblet. "Now it's your turn. Well, who would like to go first? Ah! Mr. Weasley." She turns to Ron. "One, two, three. Vera verto."

"Ahem." He clears his throat and taps Scabbers three times. "Vera verto!"

The rat turns into a furry goblet with a tail. The whole class laughs, Hermione and I stifle a small giggle as well.

"That wand needs replacing, Mr. Weasley." She scolds him. Then Hermione raises her hand. "Yes, Miss Granger?"

"Professor, I was wondering if you could tell us about...the Chamber of Secrets?"

"Well, very well. Well, you all know, of course, that Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago by the four greatest witches and wizards of the age: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. Now, three of the founders coexisted quite harmoniously. One did not."

"Three guesses who." Ron mutters.

"Salazar Slytherin wished to be more selective about the students admitted to Hogwarts. He believed magical learning should be kept within all-magic families. In other words, 'pure-bloods.' Unable to sway the others, he decided to leave the school. Now, according to legend, Slytherin had built a hidden chamber in this castle, known as the Chamber of Secrets. Though, shortly before departing, he sealed it until that time when his own true heir returned to the school. The heir alone would be able to open the Chamber and unleash the horror within, and by so doing purge the school of all those who, in Slytherin's view, were unworthy to study magic."

"Muggle-borns." Hermione states and Malfoy smirks at her maliciously. I glare at him.

"Well, naturally, the school had been searched many times. No such chamber has been found."

"Professor?" I raise my hand. "What exactly does legend tell us lies within the Chamber?"

"Well, the Chamber is said to home to something that only the Heir of Slytherin can control. It is said to be the home of a monster."

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"D'you think it's true? D'you think there really is a Chamber of Secrets?" Ron asks as the four of us walk through the hallways of the castle.

"Yes. Couldn't you tell? McGonagall's worried. All the teachers are." Hermione tells him.

"Well, if there really is a Chamber of Secrets, a-and it really has been opened, then that means-" Harry begins, but I cut him off.

"The Heir of Slytherin has returned to Hogwarts." I state. "The question is, who is it?"

"Let's think. Who do we know who thinks all Muggle-borns are scum?" Ron says sarcastically.

"If you're talking about Malfoy..." Hermione glares at him.

"Of course. You heard him! 'You'll be next Mudbloods,'" Ron imitates the blonde bloke.

"I heard him. But Malfoy, the Heir of Slytherin?" She questions.

"Well, maybe Ron's right, Hermione. I mean, look at his family. The whole lot of them have been in Slytherin for centuries." Harry tells her.

"Crabbe and Goyle must know. Pansy too. Maybe we could trick them into telling." Ron suggests.

"Even they aren't that thick. But there might be another way." I say, looking at Hermione. "Mind you, it would be difficult. Not to mention, we would be breaking about fifty school rules. And, it'll be dangerous. Very dangerous."

I lead them all to the Library to tell them my plan. If this is going to work, we're going to have to be very careful. It will take time, but if we can pull it off, without getting caught, then we'll get all the answers we need.

"Here it is. 'The Polyjuice Potion.'" I say, finding the book and reading from Moste Potente Potions. "'Properly brewed, the Polyjuice Potion allows the drinker to transform himself temporarily into the physical form of another.'"

"Do you mean, if Harry and I drink that stuff, we'll turn into Crabbe and Goyle?" Ron asks.

"Yes." Hermione states, already knowing all about Polyjuice Potion.

"Wicked! Malfoy'll tell us anything."

"Exactly. But it's tricky. I've never seen a more complicated potion." Hermione says, looking at the list of ingredients and instructions.

"Well, how long will it take to make?" Harry asks me.

"A month."

"A month? But, Mia, if Malfoy is the Heir of Slytherin, he could attack half the Muggle-borns in the school by then."

"I know. But it's the only plan we've got."