After Potions, a fairly large number of my year-mates had a free period — far from everyone wished to continue studying Care, though the Ravenclaws, for their part, decided to attend even that. Just to see what animals would be discussed, I'm sure. Of course, one could allow that they went to look at Professor Grubbly-Plank, but she'd already taught us, standing in for Hagrid for a while, and her style — more academic than Hagrid's, and oriented towards less dangerous but no less spectacular creatures — was known to all. Well, to those who'd attended, of course.
One way or another, the free students of various years and Houses decided to spend their time in the Great Hall. They sat at the tables, some not even at their own, conversing with one another. Only the green lining of robes was the rarest sight at the tables of other Houses.
"However hard your House tries," I began, as soon as Daphne and I entered the Great Hall, "you're starting to lose the image of being one and indivisible."
"As Mother used to say," Daphne gently changed direction, and we headed not to her House but to mine, "Slytherin can't do without a leader. And we haven't got all that many students around whom others are ready to rally."
We sat down at my House's table — such a manoeuvre, the presence of a Slytherin girl, was met by some with incomprehension, but rather indifferently — since it was happening, it must be the way it should be. Year-mates sat nearby or across from us, getting out textbooks, scrolls. Ernie drew attention to his person by getting out his wand:
"Ask the house-elves for something? You know, some milk and biscuits?"
"That'd be great," nodded Zacharias, with one hand ruffling his hair, with the other leafing through the hated scrolls and documents concerning the House team. Other little groups of students were "ordering" various small snacks too.
Ernie tapped his wand on the table, whispering something with concentration, and a moment later jugs, glasses, and several large plates appeared with various small biscuits and other accompaniments to tea.
"Oh, wonderful…"
Into the hall, to my surprise, came Anthony Goldstein along with Padma. The Ravenclaw prefects were about to head to their own table, but noticed Daphne's presence beside me, exchanged a couple of phrases, and joined us.
"What's the meeting about, gentlemen wizards?" Goldstein asked at once, scratching his curly crown with a finger.
"Erm…" Hannah looked round at us all. "I don't know. We're just sitting, getting on with things."
"Oh?" Padma was surprised. "And I'd thought it was something important. Well, since we're already here…"
"Indeed," Goldstein nodded, and they pulled out heaps of their own documents and a couple of textbooks each, different ones.
"You wanted to go to Care, didn't you?" Zacharias raised a mournful gaze from his papers, but on seeing his fellow sufferers, his face even brightened.
"Oh, to blazes with it…"
"So we'll just study, then," I nodded, and together with Daphne set about the homework, beginning with Runes. The others hadn't gathered here for nothing either.
Time passed, in the Great Hall the students were mostly lazing about, some coming, some going — in short, there was bustle and a domestic hum, pleasant in its own way. At one point I even had to cast a muffling charm to make it a little quieter. Just a touch, so we didn't have to talk in raised voices.
At the Gryffindor table some sort of unserious but rather loud quarrel broke out, the participants in which were, oddly enough, Harry, Ron, Ginny, and some of the others around them. Hermione, by the way, continued to associate with them, but rather not as friends, more as colleagues.
"What do you think," Daphne touched me with her elbow, "happened there?"
"I'll bet Pansy already knows."
"But she's not here… Although," Daphne saw Hermione, who was about to leave the Great Hall but, noticing our motley group, knitted her little brows and headed our way instead. "We'll find out now."
"Hello to those I haven't seen," Hermione nodded to everyone, and received nods and greetings in return. "May I?"
"Of course," Hannah shifted over, giving Ernie a nudge.
"Eh? What?" Ernie tore himself away from his notes. "Ah, hello, yeah."
"Very pithy," Hermione smiled and sat down at the table beside Hannah, across from me. "What's the meeting about?"
This question drew smirks from the others.
"No reason," I answered for everyone. "And what happened over there with you lot? We've only avoided going deaf because of the charm."
"Oh, just…" Hermione laid out her study materials in front of her. "There are certain nuances. And you, I see, are studying? I'm with you."
"Studying, studying," Zacharias answered dully, taking up another document concerning the team.
"But still, Mione," I smiled faintly, though I already knew all the necessary answers thanks to my network of spiders. "Tell us what's going on. We'll find out one way or another, all we have to do is send an agent to Brown."
"An agent?"
"Me, for example," Padma smiled. "You won't believe it, but it's enough to swap robes and ties with Parvati, and that's it, everyone tells me everything."
"That is…" Hermione was surprised. "Although, I always suspected something of the sort. All right. So, you remember Harry and Ron took Potions textbooks from the cupboard in the classroom?"
"Those who were there remember," I agreed, accepting a glass of milk from Daphne's hands — she'd just filled it from the nearby decanter. "Thanks."
"So. Harry got an old, battered textbook, all written over by the previous owner. He brewed the potion in the lesson according to those corrections in the textbook, which is why he got a perfect potion."
"And this is what all the fuss is about?" I was surprised, as were some of the others.
"Both yes and no. The problem there mainly comes from Ginny," Hermione shook her head. "She has a very… sad experience with books and the handwritten recommendations in them."
Some drooped, taking it with understanding. I don't really know that story, only superficially, but I'll find out somehow.
"Speaking of which," I put in. "Here and there, but on that occasion I heard and know something, though I'm not sure where the truth lies. Was there a basilisk?"
"There was," Hermione nodded confidently. "I even saw its reflection. You don't know, I suppose… And last year they did say, yes, there was a basilisk, and Harry killed it. So, Hector, you're plotting something, aren't you?"
"A thought just came into my head. It had flitted about there for a while, a small one, didn't pay it any mind. But just now I became curious. So no one's been there since Potter? Could no one really be interested in seeing a giant dead basilisk? In the secret chamber of Salazar Slytherin himself? Not a drop?"
"We simply told almost no one anything about what happened," Hermione explained, "so virtually no one really knew anything. All the Weasleys knew for obvious reasons, the professors, and that was it. And last year, it seems, no one simply grasped the gist of what was said."
"Now that you mention it," Hannah looked at us in surprise, and turned to Hermione. "They did say back then that the Chamber of Secrets had been opened again, the monster of Slytherin, all that sort of thing. Only later did rumours leak that the monster was a basilisk. And last year no one even grasped the phrase 'And also Harry defeated the basilisk with the Sword of Gryffindor.' And it definitely wasn't in the corridors — such a mess, and with everyone in an uproar at that, would certainly have been noticed. So, in the Chamber. So, there's a way in and Harry knows it."
"There, it seems everyone's become curious," now I was looking at those gathered, and even one of the younger ones, practically a second-year, was warming their ears very attentively, so to speak. "Daphne?"
Enthusiasm could be read on the face of the girl, who was carelessly and almost imperceptibly touching my shoulder with hers.
"I am absolutely coming with you. I'm no fan of the current notion of blood purity and other haughty attitudes, but I'm proud of my House, as well as of the founder's name. I simply must see the Chamber of Secrets."
"Well, of course…" Hermione sighed. "Only without Harry we won't get in. According to the lads, the entrance opens only with Parseltongue."
"So what's the problem?" I half-rose, looked over towards Potter, who was aggressively gnawing at some cupcake in solitude. "Potter!"
He gave a shake of his head, saw me waving at him, nodded, and started getting ready, not forgetting to grab the cupcake.
"He'll come over now, and we'll find out everything."
"Find out what?" came Pansy's voice from behind, her appearance unexpected to many.
The girl at once sat down to the side of Daphne.
"Oh, we're planning a venture," Daphne answered her friend.
"A venture? This should be interesting."
Pansy's presence wasn't habitual for many, but she'd long since ceased to provoke negativity towards herself, so her presence caused no problems.
"Oh, a biscuit," Pansy immediately took a couple from the plate.
Potter finally broke through to our table, standing beside Hermione and Hannah, on the other side of me.
"What've you got?"
"Take a seat," I indicated with my hand across from me with a smile. "There's a conversation to be had. Girls?"
The girls understood, shifted over, freeing up more than enough room at the table, and Potter literally plopped down at the table. Before him at once appeared an empty little plate, into which he, after a moment's thought, placed the large cupcake in its paper case. Hannah showed courtesy, pouring the lad a glass of milk — he was even surprised, but nodded gratefully.
"The question that's arisen for all of us is the following," I placed my hands on the table, clasping them together and leaning forward a touch. "You killed the basilisk some time ago, didn't you."
"And bon appétit to you too," the lad snorted, for the sake of propriety dividing the cupcake into segments with a table knife. "Yes, at the end of second year."
"And you did it, as we understand, in the Chamber of Secrets of Salazar Slytherin?"
"Yes," judging by his frowning face, the memories weren't very pleasant. "And what's with the interest? It's been more than a year already."
"Oh, purely scientific interest. Here's the thing, you see, no one of us has seen the basilisk, even a corpse. Slytherin, however the graduates of his House, or the graduates of his House the rest, may be regarded in our time, remains a legendary figure with an enormous baggage of achievements."
Here many were in agreement, and even Potter himself nodded understandingly.
"And so tell me, here we've nearly reached graduation from Hogwarts, and we almost missed the chance to find ourselves in a truly legendary place."
"Well, there's nothing particularly interesting there," Potter shrugged, having eaten one piece of cupcake while I spoke. "Water, stone tiling, statues, and the basilisk's lair. Gloomy, damp, and revolting."
"Doesn't matter. A legendary place remains legendary."
"I agree there," Hermione nodded. "People travel to ruins, excavations, and so on, after all."
"Only you won't get in," Potter quickly chewed another piece of cupcake. "The entrance doesn't just open."
"We already know," Hannah nodded. "Hermione said only a Parselmouth can open it. And you possess that talent. And you've already been there."
"That possession's brought me no joy. Don't you of all people know that?" a shadow of bitter resentment flickered across the lad's face when he glanced at Hannah and Ernie, sitting behind her.
"We apologised back in second year," Ernie said, leaning forward a touch to see Potter past Hannah. "Are you still sulking?"
"No," Potter shook his head. "No, it's just you created problems for me then, and worry… I even went to the Sorting Hat back then, asked whether it had been right, giving in to my persuasion and sending me to Gryffindor."
"And where did it want to send you?" Ernie asked at once, blazing with enthusiasm.
"Pff," Pansy snorted, tilting her little nose up a touch, smiling predatorily and adjusting a lock of her fringe. "It's obvious, surely. Parseltongue, rumours of the Heir of Slytherin, all the other nuances."
"Yep," Potter nodded. "To Slytherin."
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