( 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐬 )

v. chamber with the monster

"What's going on here? What's going on?"

Attracted no doubt by Draco Malfoy's shout, Argus Filch came shouldering his way through the crowd. Then he saw Mrs. Norris and fell back, clutching his face in horror.

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

And his popping eyes fell on Harry.

"You!" he screeched. "You! You've murdered my cat! You've killed her! I'll kill you! I'll —"

"Argus!"

Headmaster Dumbledore had arrived on the scene, followed by a number of other teachers. In seconds, he had swept past Matilda, Harry, Ron, and Hermione and detached Mrs. Norris from the torch bracket.

"Come with me, Argus," he said to Filch. "You too Miss Winters, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Granger."

Lockhart stepped forward eagerly.

"My office is nearest, Headmaster — just upstairs — please feel free —"

Matilda shook her head.

"Thank you, Gilderoy," said Dumbledore.

The silent crowd parted to let them pass. Lockhart, looking excited and important, hurried after Dumbledore; so did Professor McGonagall and Snape. Matilda didn't see Professor Flitwick, he was never exactly easy to find in a crowd.

As they entered Lockhart's darkened office there was a flurry of movement across the walls; Matilda saw several of the Lockharts in the pictures dodging out of sight, their hair in rollers. The real Lockhart lit the candles on his desk and stood back. Dumbledore lay Mrs. Norris on the polished surface and began to examine her. Matilda watched as Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchanged tense looks and sank into chairs outside the pool of candlelight, watching.

The tip of Dumbledore's long, crooked nose was barely an inch from Mrs. Norris's fur. He was looking at her closely through his half-moon spectacles, his long fingers gently prodding and poking. Professor McGonagall was bent almost as close, her eyes narrowed. Snape loomed behind them, half in shadow, wearing a most peculiar expression: It was as though he was trying hard not to smile. And Lockhart was hovering around all of them, making suggestions.

Matilda leaned forward eager to see what they were all trying to find.

"It was definitely a curse that killed her — probably the Transmogrifian Torture — I've seen it used many times, so unlucky I wasn't there, I know the very countercurse that would have saved her..."

Lockhart's comments were punctuated by Filch's dry, racking sobs. He was slumped in a chair by the desk, unable to look at Mrs. Norris, his face in his hands. Matilda wished they could find a cure for the cat. Not because she was feeling sorry for Filch, but because his cries were creating a pounding in her head.

Dumbledore was now muttering strange words under his breath and tapping Mrs. Norris with his wand but nothing happened. She continued to look as though she had been recently stuffed.

"... I remember something very similar happening in Ouagadougou," said Lockhart, "a series of attacks, the full story's in my autobiography, I was able to provide the townsfolk with various amulets, which cleared the matter up at once..."

Matilda rolled her eyes, "Is the cat even dead?" she asked no longer able to keep quiet. "I mean, has anyone checked for a pulse?"

They haven't. They'd been too busy wondering how the cat had been killed rather than confirming its death.

At last, Dumbledore straightened up.

"She's not dead, Argus," he said softly.

Matilda smiled, leaning back into her chair, Ron looked past Harry to see Matilda, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open. She merely shrugged at him and looked back ahead.

Lockhart stopped abruptly in the middle of counting the number of murders he had prevented.

"Not dead?" choked Filch, looking through his fingers at Mrs. Norris. "But why's she all — all stiff and frozen?"

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

Lockhart beamed, "Ah!" he laughed. "I thought this might have been the case."

Matilda furrowed her eyebrows, confused, "What?" she laughed. "No, you didn't"

"Ah, young Miss Winters," he cooed condescendingly, "Transmogrifian Torture and Petrification have very similar properties," Matilda gave him a dead stare as he continued talking to her. "I knew it had to be one or the other."

Matilda had nearly gone into a fit of rage as he talked down to her. Acting as if she was some kind of clueless little girl who knew nothing. Her hands had balled into fists on her lap, shaking.

"Ask him!" shrieked Filch, turning his blotched and tear-stained face to Harry.

"No second year could have done this," said Dumbledore firmly. "it would take Dark Magic of the most advanced —"

Matilda wanted to scoff, but she thought better of it.

"He did it, he did it!" Filch spat, his pouchy face purpling. "You saw what he wrote on the wall! He found — in my office — he knows I'm a — I'm a —" Filch's face worked horribly. "He knows I'm a Squib!" he finished.

Matilda's mouth fell open.

"You're a Squib?" asked Matilda, shocked.

She knew Filch was many things. Dirty, unkind, and a little creepy, but never had she thought about him being a Squib.

"I never touched Mrs. Norris!" Harry said loudly. "And I don't even know what a Squib is."

"It's someone who is a child of wizard parents but possesses no magic of their own," Matilda whispered, giving Harry the short answer to a rare and complex issue.

"Rubbish! He knows!" snarled Filch. "He saw my Kwikspell letter!"

"If I might speak, Headmaster," said Snape from the shadows. "Potter and his friends may have simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time," he said, a slight sneer curling his mouth as though he doubted it. "But we do have a set of suspicious circumstances here. Why were they in the upstairs corridor at all? Why weren't they at the Halloween feast?"

"There was a deathday party in the dungeons," said Matilda. "That's where we'd gone. Ask any of the ghosts in the castle."

"But why not join the feast afterward?" said Snape, his black eyes glittering in the candlelight. "Why go up to that corridor?"

Matilda looked at Harry. He'd have to take it from there.

"Because — because —" Harry said, he sounded nervous – hesitant to answer, "because we were tired and wanted to go to bed," he said.

"Without any supper?" said Snape, a triumphant smile flickering across his gaunt face. "I didn't think ghosts provided food fit for living people at their parties."

"We weren't hungry," said Ron loudly as his stomach gave a huge rumble.

Matilda rolled her eyes, "Nice save, genius," she grumbled.

Snape's nasty smile widened.

"I suggest, Headmaster, that Potter and the others are not being entirely truthful," he said. "It might be a good idea if they were deprived of certain privileges until they are ready to tell us the whole story," he suggested happily. "Perhaps Miss Winters should lose library privileges and Potter should be taken off the Gryffindor Quidditch team until he is ready to be honest."

Matilda's eyes widened, "You cannot ban me from the library!" she yelled at him. "I use the library to study – to do research for assigned work," she looked at Dumbledore pleadingly. "You cannot just allow – this isn't fair, I did nothing wrong!"

"Really, Severus," said Professor McGonagall sharply. "I see no reason to stop the boy playing Quidditch. Nor is this reason enough to interfere with a student's studies," she looked over at Harry and Matilda then back to Snape, completely unbothered by his cold stare. "This cat was not hit over the head with a broomstick or a book. There is no evidence at all that any of these students have done anything wrong."

Dumbledore was giving them all a searching look. His eyes lingered on Harry for a moment longer than the others. The twinkling light-blue gaze made them feel as though they were being X-rayed.

"Innocent until proven guilty, Severus," he said firmly.

Snape looked furious.

So did Filch.

"My cat has been Petrified!" he shrieked, his eyes popping. "I want to see some punishment!"

"We will be able to cure her, Argus," said Dumbledore patiently. "Professor Sprout recently managed to procure some Mandrakes. As soon as they have reached their full size, I will have a potion made that will revive Mrs. Norris."

"I'll make it," Lockhart butted in. "I must have done it a hundred times. I could whip up a Mandrake Restorative Draught in my sleep —"

"Oh, that is not a good idea at all," Matilda shook her head.

"Miss Winters, your commentary is not needed," said Snape icily. "But I believe I am the Potions master at this school."

There was a very awkward pause

"You may go," Dumbledore said to Matilda, Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron went as quickly as they could without actually running. Matilda stood from her chair, turning to make sure the door had successfully closed before turning back to face Dumbledore.

"You should know, Headmaster, that I had absolutely nothing to do with what happened tonight," she told him quickly. "Harry Potter is not my friend, nor are the other two who are always following him."

Dumbledore listened to Matilda's ramblings, nodding to her every word.

"If I remember correctly, Miss Winters, at the end of the last term I did encourage you to try and find some friends," he reminded her of their last conversation before the end of her first year. Matilda sighed, but before she could detest the idea, Dumbledore continued. "This might be good for you."

"What? Petrifying cats?" she asked blankly.

Filch let out another sob.

"Goodnight, Miss Winters," said Dumbledore, finally.

And Matilda knew she was being dismissed.

When she was a floor up from Lockhart's office, she turned into an empty corridor only to find Harry, Ron, and Matilda waiting for her. They stood beside an empty classroom, motioning for her to follow them inside, Matilda hesitated for a moment, but with a sigh, she walked into the empty classroom and closed the door quietly behind her.

"D'you think I should have told them about that voice I heard?"

Matilda shrugged, "Couldn't hurt..."

"No," said Ron, without hesitation. "Hearing voices no one else can hear isn't a good sign, even in the wizarding world."

"Which is reason enough for him to seek help, no?" Matilda turned to Ron, eyebrows raised.

Harry looked between his friends and Matilda, "You guys do believe me, don't you?"

"'Course I do," said Ron quickly. "But — you must admit it's weird..."

"I know it's weird," said Harry. "The whole thing's weird. What was that writing on the wall about? The Chamber Has Been Opened... What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know, it rings a sort of bell," said Ron slowly. "I think someone told me a story about a secret chamber at Hogwarts once... might've been Bill..."

A clock chimed somewhere.

"It's midnight," said Matilda.

"We'd better get to bed before Snape comes along and tries to frame us for something else," Harry sighed.

Matilda agreed and made her way into her dorm. Her roommates were already fast asleep and didn't even stir as she got ready for bed in her matching pajama set. Finally, she settled beneath her heavy comforter and sighed tiredly but just as her eyes fluttered and she could feel sleep falling over her, her stomach grumbled and she'd been reminded she'd missed dinner completely. 

For a few days, the school could talk of little else but the attack on Mrs. Norris. Filch kept it fresh in everyone's minds by pacing the spot where she had been attacked, as though he thought the attacker might come back. Matilda had noticed him scrubbing the message on the wall with Mrs. Skower's All-Purpose Magical Mess Remover, but to no effect; the words still gleamed as brightly as ever on the stone. When Filch wasn't guarding the scene of the crime, he was sulking red-eyed through the corridors, lunging out at unsuspecting students and trying to put them in detention for things like breathing loudly or looking too happy.

Luna had been quite disturbed by Mrs. Norris' fate. She was a lover of all creatures, so it didn't come as a surprise to any to see her standing where the cat had been found, staring intently at the wall.

"You've got to stop doing this," Matilda told her, pulling her away from the wall with the writing. "Honestly, people already think you're a bit odd," Luna's eyebrows furrowed as she turned to look at Matilda. "They'll start to think you did this if you keep ending up here."

The attack also sparked something within Matilda. It was quite usual for her to spend a lot of time reading, but she was now reading nothing else. Her roommates saw very little of her as she spent all her time in classes or in the library. The need to know, getting the best of her.

Many students believed their History of Magic course to be the dullest. Matilda didn't quite mind it. Though Professor Binns, who taught it, was their only ghost teacher, and the most exciting thing that ever happened in his classes was that sometimes he would enter the room through the blackboard.

Today's lesson was like any other. Professor Binns opened his notes and began to read in a flare drone, like an old vacuum cleaner until nearly everyone in the class was in a deep stupor, occasionally coming to long enough to copy down a name or date, then falling asleep again or going back to doodling on their scrolls. He had been speaking now for half an hour when something happened that had never happened in this class before. Hermione had put her hand up.

Matilda's tired eyes opened fully now and her head raised up so that her chin no longer rested in the palm of her hand.

Professor Binns, glancing up in the middle of a deadly dull lecture on the International Warlock Convention of 1289, looked amazed.

"Miss — er —?"

"Granger, Professor. I was wondering if you could tell us anything about the Chamber of Secrets," said Hermione in a clear voice.

Matilda's ears rang. She looked at Hermione and then Professor Binns. Quickly, she dipped her quill into her ink and prepared to write anything Professor Binns had to say on the subject in her notes.

Dean Thomas, who had been sitting with his mouth hanging open, gazing out of the window jerked out of his trance; Padma Patil's head came up off her arms, and Neville Longbottom's elbow slipped off his desk.

Professor Binns blinked.

"My subject is History of Magic," he said in his dry, wheezy voice. "I deal with facts, Miss Granger, not myths and legends." He cleared his throat with a small noise like chalk slipping and continued, "In September of that year, a subcommittee of Sardinian sorcerers —"

Matilda couldn't remain quiet, so her hand raised into the air, but she did not wait to be addressed before asking her own question.

"Is the wizarding not based on myths and legends, Professor?"

Professor Binns was looking at her in such amazement, Matilda was sure no student had ever interrupted him before, alive or dead.

Hermione's hand was waving in the air again.

"Miss Grant?"

"Please, sir, don't legends always have a basis in fact?"

"Well," said Professor Binns slowly, "yes, one could argue that I suppose." He peered at Hermione as though he had never seen a student properly before. "However, the legend of which you speak is such a very sensational, even ludicrous tale —"

But the whole class was now hanging on Professor Binns's every word. He looked dimly at them

all, every face turned to his. Matilda could tell he was completely thrown by such an unusual show of interest.

"Oh, very well," he said slowly. "Let me see... the Chamber of Secrets...

"You all know, of course, that Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago — the precise date is uncertain — by the four greatest witches and wizards of the age. The four school Houses are named after them: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. They built this castle together, far from prying Muggle eyes, for it was an age when magic was feared by common people, and witches and wizards suffered much persecution."

He paused, gazed blearily around the room, and continued.

"For a few years, the founders worked in harmony together, seeking out youngsters who showed signs of magic and bringing them to the castle to be educated. But then disagreements sprang up between them. A rift began to grow between Slytherin and the others. Slytherin wished to be more selective about the students admitted to Hogwarts. He believed that magical learning should be kept within all-magic families. He disliked taking students of Muggle parentage, believing them to be untrustworthy. After a while, there was a serious argument on the subject between Slytherin and Gryffindor, and Slytherin left the school."

Professor Binns paused again, pursing his lips, looking like a wrinkled old tortoise.

"Reliable historical sources tell us this much," he said. "But these honest facts have been obscured by the fanciful legend of the Chamber of Secrets. The story goes that Slytherin had built a hidden chamber in the castle, of which the other founders knew nothing.

"Slytherin, according to the legend, sealed the Chamber of Secrets so that none would be able to open it until his own true heir arrived at the school. The heir alone would be able to unseal the Chamber of Secrets, unleash the horror within, and use it to purge the school of all who were unworthy to study magic."

There was silence as he finished telling the story, but it wasn't the usual, sleepy silence that filled Professor Binns's classes. There was unease in the air as everyone continued to watch him, hoping for more. Professor Binns looked faintly annoyed.

"The whole thing is arrant nonsense, of course," he said. "Naturally, the school has been searched for evidence of such a chamber, many times, by the most learned witches and wizards. It does not exist. A tale told to frighten the gullible."

Hermione's hand was back in the air.

"Sir — what exactly do you mean by the 'horror within' the Chamber?"

"That is believed to be some sort of monster, which the Heir of Slytherin alone can control," said Professor Binns in his dry, reedy voice.

The class exchanged nervous looks.

"And would this monster be able to petrify a cat?" asked Matilda.

Again, she didn't raise her hand.

"I tell you, the thing does not exist," said Professor Binns, shuffling his notes. "There is no Chamber and no monster."

"But, sir," said Seamus Finnigan, "if the Chamber can only be opened by Slytherin's true heir, no one else would be able to find it, would they?"

"Nonsense, O'Flaherty," said Professor Binns in an aggravated tone. "If a long succession of Hogwarts headmasters and headmistresses haven't found the thing —"

"But, Professor," piped up Padma Patil, "you'd probably have to use Dark Magic to open it —"

"Just because a wizard doesn't use Dark Magic doesn't mean he can't, Miss Pennyfeather," snapped Professor Binns. "I repeat, if the likes of Dumbledore —"

"But maybe you've got to be related to Slytherin, so Dumbledore couldn't —" began Dean Thomas, but Professor Binns had had enough.

"That will do," he said sharply. "It is a myth! It does not exist! There is not a shred of evidence that Slytherin ever built so much as a secret broom cupboard! I regret telling you such a foolish story! We will return, if you please, to history, to solid, believable, verifiable fact!"

And within five minutes, the class had sunk back into its usual torpor.

Matilda fought her way through the teeming corridors at the end of the lesson to drop off her bags before lunch. But something was pulling her another way. Before she fully knew where she was going she turned to a corridor where the attack had happened. She stopped and looked. The scene was just as it had been that night, except that there was no stiff cat hanging from the torch bracket, and an empty chair stood against the wall bearing the message, 'The Chamber of Secrets has been Opened'.

The corridor had been completely deserted.

"That's where Filch has been keeping guard," Ron muttered.

Matilda turned, and they looked at each other.

And then scoffed, rolling her eyes, "Oh look, the whole gang is here... just perfect!"

Ron narrowed his eyes suspiciously at her, "And what are you doing here, lingering?"

"Your tone suggests you have an accusation to make," Matilda crossed her arms defensively.

Ron only shrugged, "Just stating what I see," he told her. "Not my fault it looks suspicious."

"Do you think before you speak?" she asked, stepping toward Ron. "How is me being here suspicious? I was with you when we found the cat, pea brain, and all night before too!"

Hermione was quick to step between the two. With a sigh, she turned to Matilda.

"Really, what are you doing here?" she asked with a calmer tone

Matilda shrugged, "Dunno," she told them truthfully. "I was on my way to my room and then suddenly... I'm standing here."

"You have an idea, don't you?" asked Harry, who'd stood behind his friends since walking upon Matilda.

"I always have ideas, Potter," she smiled.

"Tell us," Hermione sounded eager.

With a sigh, Matilda pushed past them and started further down the hall.

"Say please and maybe I'll consider it," she said in a sing-song voice.

She heard Ron scoff behind her and then they all began to follow her down the empty corridor. Matilda wanted to get away from them. She would not be caught alone with them for a second time.

"Look, whatever petrified that stupid cat had to have come from the Chamber," she told them, hoping that if she gave them this single idea she had then they'd leave her alone and ask nothing else of her. "If that's true and if the Chamber exists, I don't think that the monster would be very far. It would want to stay hidden, right? It wouldn't risk wandering too far into the castle so soon."

The trio shared looks.

"Can't hurt to have a poke around," said Harry, dropping his bag and getting to his hands and knees so that he could crawl along, searching for clues.

Matilda furrowed her eyebrows, "Couldn't hurt? I'm not sure if being petrified is some painless kind of torture," she said, watching Harry crawl around on the floor. "And I certainly didn't mean that we should crawl on the floor, looking for clues."

"Scorch marks!" Harry said. "Here — and here —"

"Come and look at this!" said Hermione. "This is funny..."

Harry got up and crossed to the window next to the message on the wall. Matilda followed. Hermione was pointing at the topmost pane, where around twenty spiders were scuttling, apparently fighting to get through a small crack. A long, silvery thread was dangling like a rope, as though they had all climbed in their hurry to get outside.

"Have you ever seen spiders act like that?" said Hermione wonderingly.

Matilda shook her head, "No, but it almost looks like they're afraid," she observed, watching the small arachnids scurry out of the castle in a disorganized bustle. "It's almost like when a flock of birds commits mass suicide when they sense death or a kind of danger."

"I've never heard of anything like that," said Harry, "have you, Ron? Ron?"

They looked behind them, Ron was standing well back and seemed to be fighting the impulse to run.

"What's up?" said Harry

"I — don't — like — spiders," said Ron tensely.

"I never knew that," said Hermione, looking at Ron in surprise. "You've used spiders in Potions loads of times..."

"I don't mind them dead," said Ron, who was carefully looking anywhere but at the window. "I just don't like the way they move..."

Matilda scoffed.

"It's serious," said Ron, fiercely. "If you must know when I was three, Fred turned my — my teddy bear into a great big filthy spider because I broke his toy broomstick... You wouldn't like them either if you'd been holding your bear and suddenly it had too many legs and..."

"Ron, what if the monster in the Chamber is a spider?" asked Matilda, with a teasing grin.

His eyes widened and his body went stiff and the mere thought of a spider monster stalking the school in the middle of the night. Matilda laughed again, shaking her head.

"Okay then, what if it's something your afraid of that's hiding out down there?" Ron coughed back his shaky voice and asked Matilda with his shoulders pulled back.

"Impossible," she shrugged simply, smiling. "I'm not afraid of anything."

There are things out there that gave Matilda the creeps or sent shivers down her spine. But she's yet to find anything that actually struck fear into her. Matilda hadn't met anything or anyone that she couldn't confront.

She's without fear.

That fact was a terrifying thought to many.

Ron broke off, shuddering. Matilda was obviously still trying not to laugh. And changing the subject, Harry said, "Remember all that water on the floor? Where did that come from? Someone's mopped it up."

"It was about here," said Ron, recovering himself to walk a few paces past Filch's chair and pointing. "Level with this door."

"You're surprised someone has mopped up a puddle of water?" asked Matilda, turning to Harry with a confused stare.

Ron, walking ahead reached for the brass doorknob but suddenly withdrew his hand as though he'd been burned.

"What's the matter?" said Harry.

"Can't go in there," said Ron gruffly. "That's a girls' toilet."

Matilda rolled her eyes, "Oh, I see," she sighed dramatically. "You are also afraid of girls."

Hermione stepped forward before Ron could come up with something to say back to Matilda.

"Oh, Ron, there won't be anyone in there," said Hermione. "That's Moaning Myrtle's place. Come on, let's have a look."

And ignoring the large OUT OF ORDER sign, she opened the door.

Ron stopped in front of Matilda, hesitant to step inside of the empty bathroom.

"Oh, get over yourself, would you?" and with a light shove, Matilda pushed Ron inside the dark bathroom.

This was the gloomiest, most depressing bathroom Matilda had ever set foot in. Under a large, cracked, and spotted mirror were a row of chipped sinks. The floor was damp and reflected the dull light given off by the stubs of a few candles, burning low in their holders; the wooden doors to the stalls were flaking and scratched and one of them was dangling off its hinges.

"Oi!" said Ron, turning to face her. "What was that for?"

Hermione put her fingers to her lips and set off toward the end stall. When she reached it, she said, "Hello, Myrtle, how are you?"

Harry and Ron followed behind her. Moaning Myrtle was floating above the tank of the toilet, picking a spot on her chin.

"This is a girls' bathroom," she said, eyeing Ron and Harry suspiciously. "They're not girls."

"Wow, stunning observation, Myrtle," Matilda deadpanned. "Though, it matters very little since no one else is ever in here."

"No," Hermione agreed with Myrtle quickly, before she had a chance to understand Matilda's slight insult. "I just wanted to show them how er — nice it is in here."

Matilda scoffed as she looked around the place.

"Ask her if she saw anything," Harry mouthed at Hermione.

Matilda shook her head, "Oh, I wouldn't whisper around—"

"What are you whispering?" said Myrtle, staring at him.

"Nothing," said Harry quickly. "We wanted to ask —"

"I wish people would stop talking behind my back!" said Myrtle, in a voice choked with tears. "I do have feelings, you know, even if I am dead —"

"Myrtle, no one wants to upset you," said Hermione. "Harry only —"

"No one wants to upset me! That's a good one!" howled Myrtle. "My life was nothing but misery at this place and now people come along ruining my death!"

Ron had backed away to stand beside Matilda while Harry and Hermione took to consoling the whiny ghost.

"Bit of a drama queen, isn't she?" whispered Ron.

Matilda nodded, "You have no idea."

They were careful to not be caught whispering by Myrtle.

"We wanted to ask you if you've seen anything funny lately," said Hermione quickly. "Because a cat was attacked right outside your front door on Halloween."

"Did you see anyone near here that night?" said Harry.

"I wasn't paying attention," said Myrtle dramatically. "Peeves upset me so much I came in here and tried to kill myself. Then, of course, I remembered that I'm — that I'm —"

"Already dead?" finished Matilda, grinning wildly.

Her joke backfired.

Myrtle gave a tragic sob, rose up in the air, turned over, and dived headfirst into the toilet, splashing water all over them and vanishing from sight, although from the direction of her muffled sobs, she had come to rest somewhere in the U-bend.

"I think Myrtle's having a good day," observed Matilda, shrugging.

Harry and Ron stood with their mouths open, but Hermione shrugged wearily and said, "Honestly, she's right. That was almost cheerful for Myrtle... Come on, let's go."

The four of them had barely stepped back into the corridor when a loud voice made all of them jump.

"RON!"

A Gryffindor Prefect, Percy Weasley, had stopped dead at the head of the stairs, his badge agleam, an expression of complete shock on his face."

"That's a girls' bathroom!" he gasped. "What were you —?"

"Just having a look around," Ron shrugged. "Clues, you know —"

Again, Matilda stepped back and away from the trio, pretending to be off doing something of her own accord.

"Get — away — from — there —" Percy said, striding toward them and starting to bustle them along, flapping his arms. "Don't you care what this looks like? Coming back here while everyone's at dinner —"

"Why shouldn't we be here?" said Ron hotly, stopping short and glaring at Percy. "Listen, we never laid a finger on that cat!"

"That's what I told Ginny," said Percy fiercely, "but she still seems to think you're going to be expelled, I've never seen her so upset, crying her eyes out, you might think of her, all the first years are thoroughly overexcited by this business —"

"You don't care about Ginny," said Ron, whose ears were now reddening. "You're just worried I'm going to mess up your chances of being Head Boy —"

Matilda couldn't see how that was a bad thing. If someone were messing up her chances at becoming Head Girl, she'd cut them off.

"Five points from Gryffindor and three from Ravenclaw!" Percy said tersely, fingering his prefect badge. Matilda stomped, angry he'd noticed her tie. "And I hope it teaches you a lesson! No more detective work or I'll write to Mum!"

And he strode off, the back of his neck as red as Ron's ears.

Matilda's eyebrows furrowed, "Why would he take points from his own house?"

Matilda, Padma, and Luna lingered for longer than usual in the common room that night. Matilda was nose-deep in a new book she'd checked out from the library and Padma was cursing at her Charms homework. Ink smudged her parchment and in an attempt to wipe it off, it smeared across her page and all over her hand. Padma slammed her scroll down and huffed. Matilda looked up at her through her eyelashes.

"How is everything with your friends?" a quiet voice asked, as though they had just been having a conversation on this topic

"What do you think, Luna?" scoffed Padma as she wiped her hands with a crumpled paper towel. "People think they tried to murder Mrs. Norris."

With a sigh, Matilda closed her book.

"If you're talking about Potter and his —"

"Of course I am!" said Padma. "I mean, you were there — the cat had been dangling from a torch, and no one looked innocent, standing there."

"Harry Potter is not my friend," said Matilda.

But her roommates eyed her skeptically.

"But you were there," Padma reminded her.

As if she needed reminding.

"By no choice of my own!" said Matilda, exasperated.

"You've been missing a lot recently," said Luna, she looked a bit confused, but she always seemed a little out of sorts. "I just assumed that you'd made friends with them."

Scoffing, Matilda shook her head, "Absolutely not," she told them. "Look, they're not as terrible as I might have first assumed, but I'm not planning on being their best friend or anything."

The two of them nodded. Matilda had thought that was the end of it, and so she picked her book back up.

"So, you aren't going to help them by finding more out about the Chamber of Secrets?" asked Padma, chiming in once again.

Matilda groaned, dropping her books, "I know very little about the Chamber myself, how could I possibly help them with anything?"

Luna and Padma shared scared looks.

"You two are scared," Matilda concluded finally. "You want me to help them find out more about the Chamber of Secrets."

Neither of them said anything for a long moment.

"Well, we just – we knew that if anyone was going to figure anything out about what's going on, you could do it," Padma shrugged. "You're like, the smartest and most brave person I know."

Matilda shrugged, grinning. She couldn't argue with that.

"Look, you guys don't have anything to be afraid of," she assured them. "The monster isn't after you two..." a long sigh escaped her lips, "It wants the muggle wizards."

"That doesn't really help me any..." said Luna.

Matilda nodded, knowing exactly what she meant.

"Yeah, me neither."

 ϟ

𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒓'𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆

More content with Matilda and the Golden Trio! Also, I am really starting to enjoy the small moments with her housemates, I hope I'm not the only one. I am trying to give Padma more of a personality of her own in this book, so please let me know how I'm doing with that.

Just a reminder, if you're a new reader or a re-reader I am editing the chapters, the way to tell if one has been edited is the font on the chapter title (it'll look like this chapter title) or scroll to the very end of a chapter and a date will be posted of when it was edited.

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As always leave all of your thoughts, theories, opinions, and ideas here. Comment on anything that stood out to you in this chapter. What did you think of this chapter? What are you thinking of Matilda so far?

𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝟏𝟐/𝟐𝟏/𝟐𝟐