Cassia's POV

McGonagall had Ron, Harry, and I serve our detentions for the car incident tonight. Ron had to polish the silver in the trophy room, Harry had to help Lockhart answer his...ugh...fan mail (Seriously, I don't know why the hell this egomaniac got picked to be our teacher this year!), and Snape had me scrubbing cauldrons and rearranging potion ingredients on the shelves, without magic. But honestly, that wasn't the bad part. The bad part was that I felt like Snape was always glaring so hard at me, even when I wasn't looking. Anyway, after about 3 hours of that, Snape let me go. The corridors were pretty much empty, but that's because everyone was at dinner. As I rounded a corner, a strange hissing sound filled my ears. But it wasn't just hissing -- it was talking, too!

I pressed my ear against the wall so I could figure out where it was coming from. As I edged further down the deserted corridor, I heard the hissing voice getting louder. The only word I could make out was "Kill". It made my blood run cold.

"Sis?" I heard Harry calling me.

I looked straight ahead and saw him walking closer to me.

"Harry, did you hear that?" I asked, withdrawing my ear from the wall.

He nodded. "In Lockhart's office. And then just now."

My hands started shaking as I remembered hearing the voice. "It was just barely a whisper, but the only word I could make out was..." I gulped. "...'kill'."

Harry and I looked at each other, both thinking the same thing -- This is NOT good!

"Harry? Cassia?" Hermione called out, snapping us back to reality. We looked in the direction of her voice and saw that she and Ron had come from around the next corner to meet up with us. Hermione probably came to get Ron after he was done with detention.

"Did you guys hear that?" Harry asked.

"Hear what?" Ron asked, confused.

"That voice," I answered.

"Voice? What voice?" Hermione asked. Did she seriously not hear it?

"I heard it first in Lockhart's office, and then again, just..." Harry stopped. The voice sounded again. "It's moving..." he said, growing as pale as I was now.

"I think it's going to kill," I muttered. We both broke into a run to see where the...whatever was making that sound...was heading.

"Kill?" I heard Ron echo from behind.

"Harry, Cassia, wait! Not so fast!" Hermione exclaimed as she and Ron ran to catch up to us.

We came to a stop at the end of the hall, just as the mysterious voice disappeared. A group of spiders -- I don't know how many, probably at least 90 -- was running out of a crack in one of the stained-glass windows.

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

"I don't like spiders," Ron said, his voice quivering with fear.

I looked down at the wet floor, and saw what looked like a reflection of something written on the wall in front of us. "What's that?" I asked, pointing.

We looked up and saw the writing on the wall, in bright red letters. And I mean bright red.

"'The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the heir, beware...'" Hermione read the message.

I wrinkled my nose. "It almost looks like it's been written with blood..."

"Oh, no," Harry muttered, his eyes focused on something else. We followed his gaze to see Filch's cat hanging from one of the wall torches, frozen in a prowling position. Her eyes were wide open.

"It's Filch's cat. Mrs. Norris," I said in shock. Don't get me wrong. I absolutely hate Filch and Mrs. Norris, but I would never wish something like this on her in a million years.

Pretty soon, the corridor was packed. Students and staff crowded around the wall in front of us, pointing and gasping in shock at what had just happened. I noticed Collin pull out his camera to take a picture, but -- thankfully -- someone stopped him.

"Enemies of the heir, beware?" Malfoy read. He looked over at us and scowled. "You'll be next, Mudbloods."

"Oh, shut up, Malfoy," I snapped.

"What's going on here? Get out of my way," Filch barked, pushing his way through the crowd. He glared at Harry and I. "Potter...what are you..." he stopped when he looked up at Mrs. Norris. "Mrs. Norris...?" His gaze turned back to the two of us. "You've murdered my cat," he said. His voice was laced with fury.

Harry shook his head. "No..." he muttered.

"I'll kill ya," Filch spat. He grabbed Harry by the clasp of his robes. "I'll kill ya!" he roared. I tried to push him off my brother, but he knocked me to the floor.

"Argus," Dumbledore spoke, bringing everything to a screeching halt.

Filch turned to him and let go. "Argus, I..." Dumbledore stopped when he saw Mrs. Norris. "Everyone will proceed to their dormitories immediately," he said. We turned and started to walk away. "Everyone except...you four."

Oh, great. "Seriously?" I whispered to Harry, who simply shrugged in response.

Dumbledore walked closer to Mrs. Norris and examined her condition. "She is not dead, Argus. But she has been Petrified," he told Filch.

"Ah, thought so. So unlucky I wasn't there, Professor," Lockhart boasted, "I know exactly the counter-curse that could have spared her."

"Sure you did," I muttered. Luckily, the only ones who heard me were Harry and Ron.

"But how she has been Petrified, I cannot say," Dumbledore said.

"Ask them. It's them that's done it. You saw what they wrote on the wall," Filch told him, pointing an accusing finger at Harry and then at me.

"It's not true, sir. I swear! I never touched Mrs. Norris, and neither did Cassia," Harry protested.

I nodded in agreement.

"Rubbish," Filch snapped.

"If I might, Headmaster, perhaps Potter and his friends were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, the circumstances are suspicious. I, for one, don't recall seeing Mr. Potter at dinner," Snape interrupted.

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

"That's why Ron and I went looking for him, Professor. We'd just found him and Cassia when Harry said..." Hermione trailed off. She looked at us for an answer.

"When I said I wasn't hungry. We were heading back to the common room when we found Mrs. Norris," Harry finished her sentence.

Dumbledore made eye contact with Snape. "Innocent until proven guilty, Severus," he said.

"My cat has been Petrified. I wanna see some punishment!" Filch snapped.

"We will be able to cure her, Argus," Dumbledore reassured him. "As I understand it, Professor Sprout has a healthy growth of Mandrake. When matured, a potion will be made, which will revive Mrs. Norris. In the meantime, I strongly recommend caution...to all."

<><><><><>

All four of us headed back to the common room.

"It's a bit strange, isn't it?" Hermione remarked, stopping on one of the staircases and turning to face us. We all stopped right behind her.

"Strange?" Harry repeated.

"You and Cassia hear this voice. A voice only both of you can hear. And then Mrs. Norris turns out Petrified. It's just...strange," Hermione told us.

"Do you think we should've told them? Dumbledore and the others, I mean?" Harry asked.

"Are you mad?!" Ron exclaimed.

"No, guys. Even in the wizarding world, hearing voices isn't a good sign," Hermione said. She turned on her heel and continued her route to the common room.

"She's right, you know," a man in one of the portraits warned us.

<><><><><>

"Could I have your attention, please? Right. Today, we will be transforming animals into water goblets. Like so," McGonagall explained in Transfiguration class the next day. She tapped a nearby bird three times with her wand and said "Vera Verto." The bird transformed into a goblet. "Now it's your turn. Who would like to go first?" She scanned the room. A few hands went up in the air. "Ah, Mr. Weasley," said McGonagall. She walked over to him. "One, two, three, Vera Verto," she instructed.

Ron cleared his throat and tapped Scabbers three times with his wand. Then he said "Vera Verto."

Scabbers turned into a furry goblet, with his tail still visible. We could all hear the filthy rat squeaking. Some of the Slytherins obviously found this funny, because they started snickering (very loudly, I might add).

"That wand needs replacing, Mr. Weasley," McGonagall reprimanded him.

Hermione raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss Granger?" McGonagall called on her.

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

McGonagall looked reluctant, but gave a slight nod. "Very 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 Salazaar Slytherin. Now, three of the founders co-existed quite harmoniously, though one did not," she explained.

"Three guesses who," Ron muttered to Harry.

McGonagall nodded. "Salazaar Slytherin wished to be more selective of the students admitted to Hogwarts. He believed that magical learning should be kept within all-magic families. In other words, Purebloods. 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 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," she went on.

Hermione instantly knew what was meant. "Muggleborns," she muttered.

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

"Professor, what exactly -- does legend tell us -- lies within the chamber?" I asked.

"The chamber is said to be home of something only the Heir of Slytherin can control. It is said to be the home...of a monster," McGonagall answered.

My eyes widened at this. A monster, hidden somewhere in this school? And someone here could be the heir of Slytherin? Something's up...

<><><><><>

"D'you think it's true? D'you think there really is a Chamber of Secrets?" Ron asked as we left the classroom.

"Yes," Hermione replied, "Couldn't you tell? McGonagall's worried, all the teachers are."

"But if there is a Chamber of Secrets, a-and it really has been opened, then that means-" Harry started.

"-the heir of Slytherin has returned to Hogwarts," I finished.

"The question is, who is it?" Hermione asked.

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

"If you're talking about Malfoy-" Hermione started to warn him.

Ron cut her off. "Of course! You heard him: 'You'll be next, Mudbloods'!"

"Maybe Ron's right, Hermione. I mean, look at his family; the whole lot of them have been in Slytherin for centuries," Harry explained.

I nodded in agreement.

"Crabbe and Goyle must know. Maybe we could trick 'em into telling," Ron suggested.

Hermione scoffed. "Even they aren't that thick," she said. "But there might be another way. Mind you, it will be difficult, not to mention we'd be breaking about fifty school rules. And it'll be dangerous...very dangerous."

<><><><><>

Hermione dragged us to the library for free period. After scanning the shelves for about 10 minutes, Hermione came running over to us with a book titled Most Potente Potions. She flipped through the pages, stopping towards the middle of the book. "Here it is. The Polyjuice Potion. Properly brewed, the Polyjuice Potion allows the drinker to transform themselves temporarily into the physical form of another," she read.

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

"Yes," Hermione answered.

"Wicked! Malfoy tells them anything!" Ron whisper-exclaimed.

"Exactly, but it's tricky. I've never seen a more complicated potion," Hermione interrupted, glancing at the book.

"How long will it take to make?" Harry asked.

"A month," Hermione replied.

"A month?" Harry and I repeated.

"Even if more than one person were brewing it?" I questioned.

Hermione nodded. "Unfortunately..."

"But Hermione, Cassia, 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," Hermione said.