(Y/N) arrived at Snape's classroom, fearing the worst. He always had it out for her, ever since she began hanging around Harry. And seeing as his first idea of punishment for breaking school rules was expulsion, (Y/N) was certain that detention with him would be no easy thing.

"You're late, (L/N)," He didn't even look up from the notes he was scribbling down. (Y/N) felt very sorry for the student who would be given back their essay; Snape seemed to be in the worst mood for grading. "Is it such an inconvenience to show up on time?"

(Y/N) hadn't ever been late to potions, as it was the class she looked forward to the most. In addition, she'd only just learned where she was meant to be going a few minutes ago. She couldn't have possibly gotten there sooner. However, she took note of the agitated gleam in the professor's eye, and the way he waited for her to defend herself so that he might give her yet another detention to serve.

"Sorry, Professor," (Y/N) opted to say. Snape almost looked disappointed. She'd given the best answer to avoid his wrath.

He stood from his chair briskly and placed his quill on the desk. "Follow me,"

Hidden away in the corner of the potions classroom was a door that (Y/N) had always seen closed. That evening, it was open, and on the shelves, she saw a vast array of potions and their ingredients neatly organized on shelves that went all the way up to the ceiling. She grew excited as Snape walked inside, suddenly very eager to follow.

But once she was past the door frame, (Y/N) noticed only one side of the room was neat and clean. Everything else had been knocked askew, thrown to the floor, or broken with contents littering the ground. Standing in the middle of the mess was Fred and George Weasley, eying a vial full of clear liquid.

(Y/N) suddenly began to wonder if she was the lucky one, after all. Detention with the Weasley twins, rifling through stores upon stores of brewing ingredients — she was sure it was the best she could get. Meanwhile, poor Ron would have to shine trophies with Filch breathing down his back, and Harry would have to listen to Lockhart for hours on end.

"You will aid the Weasleys in restoring my storeroom to its original condition." Said Snape, turning to eye (Y/N) harshly. She hurried to hide her smile. "Everything must be alphabetized, neatly organized, and clean. Only when you've done acceptable work will you be allowed to go."

"But, Snape," Said Fred, flashing the vial at their professor. "How're we supposed to alphabetize these when we don't even know what they are?"

A wicked smile twisted onto his face. "I suppose the three of you will have to use your combined knowledge, what little there is."

And before any of the students could say a word, Snape turned to go. Once he was out of sight, Fred muttered, "Git," and set the vial aside.

"Hello, (N/N)," Said George. "Good to see you,"

"How have you two got detention already?" She picked up the vial Fred set down, turning it every which way in her hands. It was small, and just the slightest bit warm against her fingertips. "It's barely been a week."

"We wouldn't have if it weren't for Peeves." Fred said. "He's the one that got us caught, and that made this mess."

"All we wanted to do was swap around the peppermint with leech juice—just to see what would happen in class."

(Y/N) looked between the twins. "What are you meant to brew?"

"Calming Draught," Answered George.

"And..." (Y/N) tried to make sense of it. "You're taking out the element that makes it calming?"

"Purely for research purposes," Fred assured her, though (Y/N) didn't trust him much when he was grinning so hard. And, she'd seen the same mischievous glint in Ron's eye right before he was about to tease her. "But then Peeves found us and went and told Snape–"

"And trashed the storeroom to get us in even more trouble," Said George.

"And now we've got to clean it up," (Y/N) sighed. "At least we know what everything is."

Neither of them said a word. Silence hadn't ever been so loud.

"You do know what these are?" (Y/N) asked them.

"We haven't even seen most of these." Admitted Fred.

"We were hoping you'd know what they are."

(Y/N) was well versed in potions knowledge, but she was only a second-year student. Like Fred and George, she was seeing ingredients and the like for the very first time. She came to realize that the three of them were in for a very long night.

They spent what felt like hours searching for what they recognized and finding its rightful place upon a shelf. Snape would pop in periodically to relish in their displeasure, offering no assistance to make the work easier and to remind them to keep their wands away, for they were not allowed to use magic at all.

It didn't stop Fred and George from using quick charms when he had his back turned. With a wave of their wand and a quiet, "Scourgify," the spills on the ground would clean themselves and Snape would be none the wiser.

"We learned that one from Mum," George told (Y/N). "She used to use it on Charlie all the time when he misbehaved."

Before the night was over, (Y/N)'d learned a brand new trick, and with her new knowledge of charms, the work got done much quicker. However, not too quick, Fred reminded her, or else Snape might've caught on.

Later in the night (Y/N) went to fetch a textbook tucked away in a cabinet. Falling apart, old, and full of messy scrawls, it did nothing more than the minimum they needed it for. She flipped through the pages, identifying veritaserum, memory potion, and shrivelfig. In due time they finished up, and Snape, though he searched, couldn't find anything wrong with their work. They were finally allowed to leave.

"I never want to look at another potion again," Groaned Fred.

"I thought it was fun," (Y/N) admitted.

The twins looked at her as if she'd grown a third arm, then at each other in disbelief.

"I think you were breathing in Essence of Insanity too long." Said Fred.

"Yeah," George agreed. "Maybe you should visit Madam Pomfrey before you start saying things that are really crazy. Like Snape being a good teacher."

(Y/N) rolled her eyes as the twins shared a laugh. "But Snape is a good teacher." She insisted. "You won't have to worry until I start saying things like that about Lockhart."

"You're right," Agreed Fred. "Then we'll know you really lost your mind."

The three parted ways once they arrived at the Great Hall. Dinner was almost over, as a vast majority of the seats were empty, but (Y/N) spotted Hermione and Ron quick enough and the twins found Lee Jordan and Angelina Johnson. They said goodbye and George teased they'd keep close in case she ever needed to be escorted to the hospital wing.

(Y/N) barely had a moment to sit down before Hermione started on her. "It's about time you show up! You've been gone for hours! And where's Harry?"

"I don't know," (Y/N) reached for a warm bread roll as her stomach growled. "I thought he'd be with you."

"We thou' he was wif you." Said Ron through a mouthful. His appetite had seemed to return since that morning.

Hermione turned on him, eyebrows furrowed disapprovingly. "You really shouldn't do that, you know."

But (Y/N) was hardly bothered by Ron. She was much more concerned by Harry's absence.

"You don't think he's still stuck with Lockhart, do you?"

Ron seemed to finally understand why the girls were so worried, but Hermione merely rolled her eyes.

"Oh, honestly," She began. "I can't understand why you don't like him."

"Hermione," Said (Y/N). "Just this week he left us alone with a group of Cornish pixies! He's a joke,"

"He just wanted us to have a bit of hands-on experience, I'm sure,"

"Oh, no," Ron set down his fork, meeting (Y/N)'s eyes. "Do you think we should go look for him? See if he needs rescued?"

She nodded, relieved to know at least one of her friends was on the same page. (Y/N) hurried to get in a few bites of bread and a swig of pumpkin juice before she and Ron got up to go. Hermione followed, though she still did not seem to approve.

All (Y/N) could think of was how bored poor Harry had to be. She'd nearly forgotten he hadn't been nearly as lucky as her. She couldn't begin to imagine spending four hours beside Gilderoy Lockhart, listening to him talk about himself while she answered his fan letters for him.

She rounded the corner, just thinking of what kind of lie they would tell their professor to spare Harry when she ran into the very boy she was on her way to save. He stumbled backward over his feet, eyes wide in terror, struggling to catch his breath.

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, steadying (Y/N) before she could stumble, too.

(Y/N) hardly noticed. "Are you alright?"

Harry looked wildly between the girls. "Did you hear it?" He demanded.

(Y/N) hadn't ever seen him so frantic. Harry had always been very brave; in the forbidden forest, facing a three-headed beast, even right before facing Lord Voldemort all on his own. Just what happened, she wondered, to get him so worked up? The thought of it made (Y/N)'s stomach churn.

"Hear what?" Ron looked like he was trying to make sense of it, too.

"The voice!" Said Harry.

"Voice?" Hermione furrowed her brows. "What voice?"

He looked around the dimly lit corridor and (Y/N) followed his line of sight. There was nothing out of the ordinary, but even still, she began to grow tense.

"I heard it first in Lockhart's office. And then again, just—"

Harry stopped, eyes falling on (Y/N) expectantly. She didn't know what it was he wanted from her, but she could tell by his expression she hadn't delivered. Had he heard it again?

"It's moving," Harry looked past her and further down the hall. (Y/N) spared a glance over her shoulder, but saw nothing amiss. "I think it's going to kill."

She looked back at Harry just as he spoke. "Kill?" She repeated, but he took off running the way they came.

(Y/N) didn't want to follow Harry very much if he was chasing after something murderous, but she thought it wouldn't be very good of her to stay put, either. So, trying hard to ignore the knot in her stomach, she chased after him.

"Harry, wait!" She called.

Hermione and Ron were quick to follow, and the four of them ran through the empty Hogwarts corridors, chasing something only Harry could see. Their footsteps echoed off the walls, filling (Y/N) with dread, until Harry suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned down the hall.

(Y/N) followed. Each step she took sent a splash of cold water up to stick to her tights. She kept close to Harry's side just as Hermione and Ron caught up. The scent of copper hung heavy in the air. It was silent, save for their footfalls. Harry stopped yet again, and just as quickly, grabbed onto (Y/N)'s wrist.

She nearly jumped out of her skin, but she saw where Harry was looking. A line of spiders, quiet and quick, were escaping through a small crack in the glass into the night.

"Strange," Said Harry. "I've never seen spiders act like that."

"I don't like spiders," Ron looked away, but quickly spotted something else. He furrowed his brows and stepped closer. "What's that?"

(Y/N) followed his gaze to the water, painted red. It took her less than a moment to realize it was a reflection, and she turned her gaze to the writing on the wall just as Hermione started to read.

"'The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir beware.'" She shifted her weight anxiously. "It's written in blood."

(Y/N) looked further down the hall, feeling quite sick, but what she saw did nothing to settle her nerves. With a startled gasp, she latched onto Harry's hand and pointed ahead to the great mass of fur strung up by her tail, dangling from a lit brazier. "Look!"

Everyone looked where she directed, and like (Y/N), Hermione let out a gasp. Harry tentatively stepped forward. (Y/N) didn't have quite enough courage to let go of his hand, so she went with him, but was careful to let him take the lead.

"It's Filch's cat," Said Harry. "Mrs. Norris,"

(Y/N) didn't care for Mr. Filch, nor did she care for his cat. Yet, as she regarded Mrs. Norris in her state, she thought of what she might feel if she'd found Alcestis instead. "She's not..." (Y/N) hesitated. She worried saying what she feared might make it true. "She isn't dead, is she?"

No one had a chance to answer. Students came bustling down the corridor, chattering loudly among themselves. (Y/N), Harry, Ron, and Hermione all turned to go but found they were trapped. Students were coming from both ways.

As they came upon them in the corridors, they took notice of the blood on the walls and the four second years directly below it. (Y/N) wished they had Harry's invisibility cloak; she knew they would be the ones taking the blame.

Draco pushed his way to the front, and as he read the letters on the wall his lips twisted into a cruel smile. "Enemies of the Heir, beware," He turned his sharp gaze on Hermione. "You'll be next, Mudbloods,"

(Y/N) didn't even have a moment to glare at him, for Mr. Filch came pushing through the students. "What's going on here!" He pushed Percy Weasley, who was craning his neck to see. "Go on, make way, make way!"

He pushed through, looking past Hermione and Ron, and straight at Harry. "Potter," He spat. "What are you..."

But Filch trailed off, and his eyes moved past (Y/N) to the poor cat behind her. "Mrs. Norris...?" His eyes flashed with fury, and his face twisted into a nasty snarl. "You... You murdered my cat!"

"No," Harry took a tentative step backward, frantically shaking his head. "No,

"I'll kill ya!" Filch grabbed Harry by his tie, snatching him right out of (Y/N)'s hold. "I'll kill ya!"

"Argus!" Dumbledore appeared through the parted sea of students, McGonagall and Snape on either side of him. Filch let Harry go, and relieved, still reeling, (Y/N) pulled him away from the caretaker.

Dumbledore took notice of what caused such a crowd. Looking suddenly quite grim, he said, "Everyone will proceed to their dormitories immediately!"

(Y/N) and Harry exchanged a glance, and without a word, fell in line with Ron and Hermione to scurry away. Just when (Y/N) thought they would be let go, Dumbledore spoke again.

"Everyone except!" He pointed his finger directly at them. "You four,"

She should have known it couldn't have been so easy.

"She's not dead, Argus," Assured Dumbledore. "She has been petrified--"

"Ah!" Lockhart approached Mrs. Norris with an easy walk, hands surely placed on his hips. "Thought so. So unlucky I wasn't there. I know exactly the counter curse that could have spared her."

(Y/N) was quite relieved to see that McGonagall fixed Lockhart with a harsh stare, to see the glare Snape sent his way and the absolutely tired look from even Dumbledore. Even her professors despised him.

"--But," Continued Dumbledore. "How she has been petrified I cannot say."

"Ask him!" He nodded towards Harry, eyes still alight with rage. "It's him who's done it! You saw what he wrote on the wall!"

"It's not true, sir, I swear!" Harry said at once. "I never touched Mrs. Norris!"

"Rubbish!" Shouted Filch.

"If I might Headmaster," Professor Snape spoke up. "Perhaps Potter and his friends were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time."

(Y/N) could not believe it. Never in her wildest imaginations would she ever picture Severus Snape standing up for her and her friends.

"However," He said. (Y/N) knew she got her hopes up too soon. "I, for one, don't recall seeing Potter at dinner."

Lockhart nodded dutifully. "I'm afraid that's my doing, Severus. You see, Harry was helping me answer my fan mail."

(Y/N) was glad to see Lockhart finally do something useful. Snape looked quite irritated.

"It doesn't explain where Miss (L/N) was this evening," He began.

She could not hold her tongue. "I was serving detention with you!"

"And when you were dismissed, you only went to the Great Hall long enough to find your friends." He smiled; he thought he'd won. "Then you hurried off. Tell me, why were you in such a rush?"

"We were looking for Harry!" She insisted. "He'd been gone all night answering those letters!"

Hermione nodded hastily to agree. "We'd just found him when he said..." She trailed off, coming to the realization that she could not relay the information Harry told them. If they went around telling professors he was hearing voices, they'd think he was the culprit without a doubt.

"Yes, Miss Granger?" Snape pushed.

Hermione was never a quick liar. She looked to (Y/N) for help. She was just about to blurt something out when Harry spoke. "When I said I wasn't hungry."

Snape fixed him with an intense stare. He knew they were lying, but Harry went on anyway.

"We were just heading to the common room when we found Mrs. Norris."

Snape raised a brow and turned on his heel to see what Dumbledore might say. Dumbledore looked at Harry and (Y/N) with a searching gaze. It was as if he was looking right through her.

Finally, Dumbledore gave his answer. "Innocent until proven guilty, Severus." He said.

Snape pressed his lips together in agitation. (Y/N) tried not to sigh in relief.

"My cat has been petrified!" Exclaimed Filch. His voice quavered. "I want to see some punishment!"

"We will be able to cure her, Argus," Dumbledore said patiently. "As I understand it, Madam Sprout has a very healthy growth of Mandrakes. When matured, a potion will be made to revive Mrs. Norris. In the meantime, I strongly recommend caution." His gaze fell upon the second years. "To all,"

Dumbledore dismissed them and they departed from the hall as fast as they could without running away. They were nearly back to the Gryffindor Common Room when Hermione finally stopped to talk to them.

"It's a bit strange, isn't it?"

Harry frowned. "Strange?"

"You hear this voice -- a voice only you can hear -- and then Mrs. Norris turns up petrified. It's just..." Hermione hesitated. "Strange,"

Harry looked between his friends. "Do you think I should have told them? Dumbledore and the others, I mean?"

"Are you mad?" Exclaimed Ron, the same moment (Y/N) said, "Absolutely not!"

Harry looked at them both with widened eyes. (Y/N) did not mean to shout, but Ron did not look remorseful.

"They're right, Harry," Hermione said apologetically. "Even in the wizarding world, hearing voices isn't a good thing."