Chapter 16 - Chamber of Secrets

        Immediately, Ron, Hermione and Eric dragged Harry and me to the Gryffindor common room. As soon as the painting was shutting behind us, Ron yelled lowly,

"You're Parselmouthes! Why didn't you tell us?"

"We're what?" I furrowed my brows, sharing a completely confused glance with Harry.

"You can talk to snakes," Hermione said. I nodded as Harry spoke,

"We know. I mean, we accidentally set a python on our cousin Dudley at the zoo once. Once! But so what? I bet loads of people here can do it."

"No. They can't. It's not a very common gift, Harry. This is bad."

I frowned,

"What's bad? If we hadn't told that snake not to attack Justin-"

"Oh, that's what you said to it," Eric interrupted, seeming a bit relieved.

"You were there!" Harry exclaimed, "You heard us!"

"We heard you both speaking Parseltongue. Snake language."

"We spoke a different language?"

I took in the information before saying,

"But we didn't realize- how can we speak a language without knowing we can?"

"I don't know, Ella," Hermione told me, "But it sounded like you were egging the snake on or something."

My frown grew as Hermione continued, "Harry, Ella, listen to me. There's a reason the symbol of Slytherin house is a serpent. Salazar Slytherin was a Parselmouth. He could talk to snakes, too."

"Exactly," agreed Ron, "And now the whole school's going to think you're his great-great-great-grandson and granddaughter or something."

I pouted as Harry said,

"But we're not. We... can't be."

"He lived a thousand years ago," Eric suggested, "For all we know... you could be."

One night, a group of second years, including Harry, Ron, Eric, me and Hermione, were all gathered in the library to study. It was practically dead silent, letting my thoughts easily wander. I couldn't help but keep worrying about being a Parselmouth. After a little while, I glanced up at Ron, Eric and Hermione sitting across from me and Harry. Ron and Eric seemed to notice me looking and looked up to smile, and a second later, Hermione did too. But they all seemed forced, making me feel worse as I started to hear the whispers and feel the eyes of everyone else staring into my back. Looking at Harry with the same expression as him, my brother and I shared a thought before he turned to our friends,

"We'll see you later."

We both quickly got up, ignoring the stares as we walked out of the library. But as the two of us had just gotten to the hallway, we paused at the sound of voices talking about us. Quietly, too curious to continue on, I glanced around the wall to see Ernie, Hannah and some of my other fellow Hufflepuffs sitting at a table whispering to one another. Ernie was leaning over the table to get closer to Hannah as he spoke lowly,

"So, anyway, I told Justin to hide up in our dormitory. I mean to say, if the Potters marked him down as their next victim, it's best he keep a low profile for a while."

"But why would they want to attack Justin?" Hannah asked.

"Justin let it slip to the Potters that he was Muggle-born."

"And you definitely think the Potters are the Heirs of Slytherin?"

"Hannah, they're Parselmouthes," Ernie urged. "Everyone knows that's the mark of a dark wizard. Have you ever heard of a decent one who could talk to snakes? They called Slytherin himself Serpent-tongue." Ernie's tone turned dark as he continued, "Remember what was written on the wall: Enemies of the Heir Beware. The Potters had some sort of run-in with Filch. Next thing we know, Filch's cat's attacked. That first-year Creevey's been annoying the Potters. Then Creevey's attacked."

"Harry always seems so nice, though. And Ella is a wonderful friend and roommate! And, after all, they are the ones who made You Know Who disappear."

Ernie simply shook his head at my dorm mate,

"That's probably why You Know Who wanted to kill them in the first place. Didn't want another Dark Lord competing with him. Let alone two."

Not wanting to hear anymore and not sure whether to be angry or cry, I quietly slipped away with Harry softly pulling my hand. As the two of us stormed down the hall, Harry frustratedly muttered to himself while I followed closely along until we turned a corner to see Hagrid. I lightly gasped at the surprise as Hagrid smiled,

"Hello, Harry and Ella."

I suddenly noticed the rooster in my giant friend's hand and furrowed my brows in confusion to join my frown. Hagrid's tone was filled with concern as he asked, "You alright?"

"Hagrid," I tried to smile before Harry asked,

"What are you doing here?"

With a frown, Hagrid held up the rooster in his hand,

"Second one killed this term. I reckon it's either a fox or a blood-sucking bugbear. So I've just been up at Dumbledore's getting permission to put a little charm around the old hen coop. You sure you two are alright? You're both awful hot and bothered."

"It's nothing," Harry and I shook our heads.

"We'd better get going," Harry took my hand, "We've got a lot of studying to do."

With that, Harry gripped my hand a little tighter before we started up the stairs. Continuing our walk, not even a few minutes had passed when I suddenly heard the scary cold voice,

"Blood..."

Harry and I stopped in our tracks as we listened, "I want blood..."

I breathed in a shaky breath and gripped Harry's hand tightly as he started moving toward the wall where we seemed to hear the voice slightly louder, "They all must die..."

My frown deepened as we followed the cold voice along the wall, "Kill. Kill. Kill!" Time to kill..."

The voice suddenly trailed off, and Harry and I shared a look as we both gulped. Deciding we should try and ignore it, we continued once again until the two of us came across a puddle of water. Walking past the puddle, Harry and I stopped at the sight of Nearly Headless Nick floating with smoke coming from his neck. I stepped a little closer to the ghost, trying to see if he was alright, but my attention quickly moved toward the brunette boy lying on the ground a few steps away.

"Harry!" I whisper-yelled, rushing to kneel by Justin's side. As Harry came to kneel beside me, I gently touched Justin's hand to see if he was petrified when I suddenly heard Filch's voice,

"Caught in the act."

Harry's and my head whipped around to see Filch standing behind us as he narrowed his eyes at us, "I'll have you out this time, Potters. Mark my words."

"No, Mr Filch!" Harry shouted after the man as he left the corridor, "You don't understand-"

I sighed, knowing he was going to find a professor to get us in trouble. Harry then pat my arm and made me follow his gaze toward the spiders crawling toward the window. My twin and I stood to watch the spiders flee out the window when we turned our heads to the sound of footsteps. When Professor McGonagall saw the scene, she gasped before taking a few steps closer to us and Justin. With a terrified expression, McGonagall glanced at me and Harry, then looked at Justin again.

"Professor, we swear we didn't-" Harry tried, but Professor McGonagall gave us a frown,

"This is out of my hands, Potters. Mr Filch, will you take care of this, please?"

With that, Professor McGonagall led me and Harry away and down the hall. It wasn't long before McGonagall marched the two of us down to the end of a corridor toward a large bird gargoyle. Once we reached the end, Professor McGonagall gestured toward the bird with her hand as she looked at the two of us,

"Professor Dumbledore will be waiting for you."

With small frowns, Harry and I nodded before stepping into the bird's nook. Calmly, McGonagall announced to the gargoyle, "Sherbet lemon."

After a moment, the bird turned and revealed a set of stairs that my twin and I quickly stepped onto as they twisted up.

At the top, there was a large door that my brother gently opened before we poked our heads through.

"Professor Dumbledore?" Harry spoke, but there was no answer. Quietly, Harry and I stepped through the door and entered the large, circular room. Strange silver instruments whirred quietly while I looked around at all the paintings of previous headmasters and the curious objects. As we walked deeper into the room and up the small steps, I noticed the Sorting Hat sitting atop one of the shelves. As Harry stepped up beside me, the Hat seemed to notice our presence and turned to speak,

"Bee in your bonnet, Potters?"

Harry and I shared a glance before my brother shyly asked the brown Hat,

"We-we were wondering if you put us in the right houses."

"Yes... you were both particularly difficult to place. But I stand by what I said last year... you would have done well in Slytherin. Both of you."

"You're wrong," I said simultaneously with Harry. The Hat sat motionlessly, and it was silent in the office until we heard an odd sound coming from the other side of the room. Our heads turned to see a beautiful red bird sitting on a golden perch. Positively fascinated, Harry followed behind me as I walked up to the red beauty with a smile on my face. I was so excited until suddenly the bird burst into flames as horror filled my face.

"Ella? Harry?" I heard Dumbledore ask and looked up to see the headmaster.

"Professor, your bird..." Harry started to explain as I continued,

"We couldn't do anything... He just caught fire."

Dumbledore smiled,

"Oh, and about time, too. He's been looking dreadful for days. Pity you had to see him on a Burning Day. He's really very handsome most of the time."

I furrowed my brows in utter confusion and shared a quick look with Harry as Dumbledore started to descend the stairs, "Fawkes is a phoenix, Harry and Ella. Phoenixes burst into flame when it is time for them to die, and then they are reborn from the ashes."

Dumbledore gestured a hand toward the small pile of ashes that sat under Fawkes' golden perch. As I watched carefully, the ashes moved before a baby Fawkes poked out his wrinkled head, blinking through the dust. I smiled in wonder as the baby bird quietly chirped. "Fascinating creatures, phoenixes. They can carry immensely heavy loads, their tears have healing powers, and they make highly faithful pets."

Just then, Hagrid suddenly burst through the door, still holding the rooster,

"Professor Dumbledore, sir, wait! Listen!"

My giant friend quickly strode over to us, "Professor Dumbledore, sir, it wasn't Harry and Ella!"

"Hagrid-" Dumbledore tried, but Hagrid kept talking,

"In fact, I'd be prepared to swear it in front of the ministry of magic!"

"HAGRID! Relax. I do not believe that Ella and Harry attacked anyone." Professor Dumbledore gently placed a hand on my shoulder as well as Harry's.

"Well, of course, you don't, I- Oh. Right. Well, I'll just wait outside then."

As Hagrid left the room, Harry and I looked hopefully at the headmaster.

"You don't think it was us, Professor?" I asked shyly.

"No, Ella," Dumbledore shook his head, "I do not think it was you. But I must ask you both... is there something you wish to tell me?"

Professor Dumbledore waited as Harry and I thought, as though we could speak to each other without saying anything aloud. After a moment, Harry spoke first,

"No, sir."

"Nothing," I finished. Professor Dumbledore nodded,

"Very well, then. Off you go."

The winter holidays had finally arrived, and students walked around the castle with their trunks ready to go home. As Harry, Ron, Eric, Hermione and I all walked down a corridor, Ernie and a few others cast me and my brother wary glances. The five of us stopped to stand outside and try to enjoy the snow, but it wasn't long before Fred and George came around to joke,

"Make way for the Heirs of Slytherin! Seriously evil wizard and witch coming through!"

Ron grinned, amused, But Harry and I frowned, causing our red-headed friend to try and cheer us up,

"Oh, c'mon, Ella and Harry. Fred and George are just having a laugh."

"They're the only ones," Harry stated.

"Okay, so half the school thinks you're nipping off to the Chamber of Secrets every night."

"Who cares?" Eric finished.

I sulked,

"Maybe they're right."

Frustrated and upset, Harry and I turned to walk back inside to get away from everyone, but Hermione called our names,

"Harry! Ella!"

Hermione, Eric and Ron followed us until Hermione whined, "Oh, come on!

Harry and I stopped as my brother angrily turned toward our friends and yelled,

"We didn't know we could speak Parseltongue. What else don't we know about ourselves?"

I gently took Harry's hand in mine, causing him to take a deep breath as I gently explained to the others,

"Look, maybe you can do something... even something horrible... and not know you did it."

Hermione shook her head with a frown,

"You don't believe that, Ella, I know you don't. And if it makes you feel any better, I just heard Malfoy's staying over for holiday, too."

Ron furrowed his brows,

"Why would that make anyone feel better?"

"Because, in a few days, the Polyjuice Potion will be ready. In a few days... we may truly know who is the Heir of Slytherin."

That made me feel better, and when I felt Harry become less tense, I knew it had helped him too.

Finally, Christmas arrived, and the Great Hall glimmered grandly as snowflakes tumbled from the ceiling. Ron, Eric, me and Harry were all eating our Christmas feast when Hermione joined us.

"Everything's set," my brilliant friend told us, "We just need a bit of who you two are changing into."

"Crabbe and Goyle," Harry nodded.

"We also need to make sure that the real Crabbe and Goyle can't burst in on us while we're interrogating Malfoy."

Eric frowned,

"How?"

"I've got it all worked out," Hermione smiled, pulling out two cakes. "I've filled these with a simple Sleeping Draught. Simple but powerful. You know how greedy Crabbe and Goyle are. They won't leave the Christmas Feast until every last drop of trifle is gone. Now, once they're asleep, hide them in a broom cupboard and pull out a few of their hairs."

"And whose hair are you ripping out then?" Ron grumpily demanded.

"I've already got mine," Hermione revealed a small vial with some hair inside. "Millicent Bulstrode. She's in Slytherin. I got this off her robes. I'm going to check on the Polyjuice Potion." Hermione pointed to the cakes in front of her. "Make sure Crabbe and Goyle find these."

With that, Hermione stood to leave as Eric turned toward the rest of us,

"Have you ever heard of a plan where so many things could go wrong?"

I shrugged, wanting to hope that this would work. Later, after our dinner, the four of us lurked behind a suit of armour just outside the Great Hall, waiting for Crabbe and Goyle to finally come out. Harry had levitated the cake Hermione had given us to float a little ways away from the entrance to the Hall. It wasn't long before the two Slytherin boys walked out with piles of cakes in their arms as they smiled. Goyle was quick to spot our floating cakes before the boys quickly walked toward them. Without hesitation, Crabbe and Goyle grabbed a cake each and took a quick bite before they paused, looked at each other with confused expressions and fell flat on their backs. Knocked out.

"How thick could you get?" Ron quietly laughed before he, Eric, Harry and I swiftly dragged Crabbe and Goyle across the floor and into a cupboard. After Harry and Ron pulled out a few hairs, the four of us raced to the girl's bathroom, where Hermione was waiting for us.

"Well, did you get the hairs?" Hermione asked, causing Ron and Harry to show her what they got. Suddenly the four of us noticed the clothes beside Hermione as Ron questioned,

"What are those?"

"Slytherin robes, I had to sneak them from the laundry."

I nodded with the boys in understanding before glancing at the cauldron. The potion looked like thick, dark, bubbling mud.

"Are we going to drink that?" Harry questioned, seemingly as disgusted as I was, and I didn't even have to drink it.

"Mmmm," Hermione cringed before Eric nervously chuckled,

"Glad Ella and I aren't you three."

"Once we've drunk it, we'll have exactly one hour before we change back into ourselves."

Ron nodded the spoke,

"Ok. Now what?"

"We separate it into three glasses and add the hairs."

Harry and Ron grimaced, and I felt horrible for my friends. Hermione poured the potion into three glasses as Harry and Ron quickly changed into the Slytherin robes. Once the boys had changed, Harry, Hermione and Ron added the hairs before the three of them raised their glasses. The potion turned into a shade of different brown in each glass as Ron cringed once more,

"Eww. Essence of Crabbe..."

Harry nodded as Hermione clanked their glasses together,

"Cheers."

Eric and I watched as the three each drank the potion. Each of them gagged at the taste until Ron suddenly announced,

"I think I'm going to be sick..."

Ron dropped his glass and ran into a stall before Hermione did the same. Harry looked sick and suddenly doubled over and dropped his glass. I quickly stepped up to my brother's side as he moved to lean over the sink.

"Harry?"

Harry looked worried when I noticed him looking at his hands. Following my twin's gaze, I looked at his hands only to see them bubbling. I gasped as I took a small step back when Harry's face suddenly started bubbling too. As I looked closer, I could see Harry's features slowly contort into the thick features of Goyle until my brother didn't look like himself anymore.

"Woah..." Eric whispered in astonishment when Harry stood up straight with a smile. Not a moment later, Ron came out from the stall looking just like Crabbe.

"Harry?" Ron asked my brother while Eric and I stood there with our mouths open in shock. Harry questioned,

"Ron?"

Eric and I finally got over the surprise to smile excitedly,

"Wow."

"Bloody hell," Ron gaped, but Harry frowned,

"We still sound like ourselves."

Eric nodded, telling Ron,

"You need to sound more like Crabbe."

Ron adjusted his voice and tried,

"Bloody hell."

"Lower," I suggested before Ron tried again,

"Bloody hell."

Harry shook his head, proposing,

"Less intelligent."

Ron tried once more,

"Bloody hell."

"Excellent," Harry smiled until Ron questioned,

"But where's Hermione?"

In response, Hermione shouted from the stall,

"I- I don't think I'm going. You go on without me."

"Hermione, are you okay?" I asked, worried for her.

"Just go! You're wasting time!"

Not knowing what else we could do, Harry and Ron shrugged before Eric and I both did the shrinking spell on ourselves,

"Reducio."

Quickly, Eric and I shrunk to about the size of an egg. Gently, Harry kneeled down and carefully picked the two of us up and placed us in the pocket of his robe.

"Ready, guys?" Harry asked, making sure we were secure.

"Ready," Eric replied before I felt the robe start to move, indicating that Ron and Harry had started running down the halls.