* * *

TRANSFIGURATION CLASS WAS ordinarily one of the easier hours of the day. Valerie Grindelwald would take it as a time to clear her mind, staring blankly at whatever Professor Mcgonagall was presenting at the front from her shrouded seat at the very back of the classroom. But, today, her thoughts were racing, her heart was pulsing, and her ice blue eyes were trained on the quill she fiddled between her fingers.

All the students were on edge, and it came to no surprise, especially after the events of the night before. Their paths on the way back to their Common Rooms were interspersed by a disturbing scene which left Mrs. Norris petrified, and the wall stained with a blood-written message.

"Today, we will be transforming animals into water goblets," Professor Mcgonagall informed the class, "Like so."

The woman let her wand make three gentle taps on the bird obliviously perched on her table, and they all watched as it morphed into a beautifully oriented chalice. Mcgonagall then stepped closer to her students, "Now who would like to go first?"

This would be when Valerie would sink deeper into her seat, silently thanking Merlin for being stationed at the far-back of the room. She didn't do well with being the center of attention, but this time she paid no mind to what Ronald Weasley did as he wielded his splintered wand on an unsuspecting rodent.

"That wand needs replacing, Mr. Weasley," Mcgonagall sighed at the unsuccessful attempt. Her attention then shifted to the bushy-haired girl who raised her hand, "Yes, Ms. Granger?"

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

Valerie shot up at Hermione's words as she asked the burning question on all of their minds, which would hopefully be put the rest by even the vaguest of answers.

Upon realising that the query had garnered the attention of the entirety of the class, Mcgonagall nodded, "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," she began, "Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin."

"It's astonishing," Theodore suddenly whispered from beside her, urging her to lean towards him.

"How do all their names sound so formidable?" he continued, puzzling Valerie to no end, "Imagine if I was one of the greatest wizards of the age a thousand years ago, how would anyone feel about being put in the Nott house?"

Valerie scoffed, whacking him upside in the head before turning back to the Professor as Theodore silently snickered.

"Now, three of the founders coexisted quite harmoniously— one did not. Salazar Slytherin wished to be more selective about the students admitted to Hogwarts. He believed magical learning should be kept within all-magic families, in other words, purebloods."

Gellert Grindelwald had never dwelled on the subject of blood purity in any of his stories, because in his tenable words; "At the end of the day, one is either powerful or frail. What importance do any other factors hold, if not for discriminatory purposes of the uncontrollable occurrence that is their own birth?"

It was something of a riddle that Valerie had lived by, aware of the heavy controversy on the matter at Hogwarts.

Mcgonagall continued, explaining that the Salazar Slytherin had built a chamber with the intention of purging the school of muggle-borns, when his own true heir would return. It was a dense belief, one that Valerie would never understand.

The professor had assured them that in the countless searches throughout the years they discovered no trace of a chamber, but the hint of fret in her voice inferred otherwise. It existed, that was for sure, hidden so well that it had never been found.

"Professor," Hermione spoke up, "What exactly does legend tell us, lies within the chamber?"

There was an unnoticeable flash of fear in Mcgonagall's eyes, "The chamber is said to be home to something that only the heir of Slytherin can control. It is said to be the home, of a monster."

All of a sudden, Valerie felt several eyes on her. She let her head fall to her desk in defeat, knowing she was once again, a prime suspect for a work of evil.

"Alright, who of you's done it?" Theodore asked as they walked out of the Transfiguration classroom. Valerie, Blaise, Pansy, Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle stared at him confusedly, to which he raised an eyebrow at them.

"I mean, it's got to be one of us," he shrugged nonchalantly. Valerie rolled her eyes, starting to question her association with the boy. She spotted Crabbe and Goyle giving her discreet looks of accusation.

Valerie furrowed her eyebrows at their ignorance, "I'm Austrian, you imbeciles."

"Thickheads," Blaise murmured at the two goons.

Valerie then sent Harry a weak wave as they passed by him and his friends, but the Potter boy hesitated before calling her back, "Wait, Valerie. I-I, er—"

"Grindelwald!" Draco shouted after her, annoyed, "Our Potions essay won't write itself."

"I'll only be a second, your majesty," Valerie forced a chaffed smile at him, letting out a frustrated sigh before turning back to Harry, "Sorry about that, what were you were going to say?"

"I was just going to..." he opened his mouth to speak, before looking back over his shoulder, giving his friends an unreadable look, "Never mind."

"Er, okay. Well, see you later, Harry," Valerie bid him goodbye, trying to ignore the skeptic eyes on her as she made her way to her housemates.

* * *

Valerie wanted nothing else but to curse the man responsible for pairing her with the unbearable prat that is Draco Lucius Malfoy. She didn't know how much of his cocky, incessant comments she could take, his words hammering into her already irritated head.

They had only been in the library for half an hour, trying to formulate an essay acceptable enough for the criticising views of Severus Snape.

"Your handwriting is terrible," Draco told her as he leaned back in his seat.

"You can tell me your opinion when you've written it all yourself," she hissed at him, "Until then, shut up."

Draco held his hand out, signalling for her to pass the paper over. Valerie shook her head in disbelief, shoving it into his hands before getting up.

"I'll find another reference book," she said quickly before walking over to the Potions column of the library.

A familiar trio of Gryffindors was settled by the window, seemingly engrossed in their own conversation. At her arrival, however, Hermione slammed her book shut, Ron sat up straighter, and Harry awkwardly cleared his throat.

Valerie eyed them with mild curiosity, but proceeded to grab what she needed, leaving without another word.

She took the book back to their table, reluctantly taking her seat beside Draco. The two resumed their work, falling into a straining silence with the occasional bicker back and forth. But, something else was on Valerie's mind as she flipped through the boring pages of the Potions textbook.

Perhaps, Theodore was not completely wrong. She thought over her group of friends, one by one. If anyone was to be suspected in their year, their names would all make the top half of the list. With their house, pureblood heritage and general reputation, it was only expected, after all.

"I know what you're thinking," Draco spoke as he dipped his quill in the ink jar, keeping his eyes on the parchment, "I'm the heir of Slytherin."

Valerie laughed drily, "No you're not."

"You can't be sure of that," Draco challenged, dropping the quill to face her. They were the only students left in the library, and curfew was edging closer by the minute.

"I am," Valerie retorted, "If you were descended from Salazar Slytherin, you'd have boasted about since last year."

"Obviously, I'd have to keep it—"

"Secret? Please," Valerie scoffed, "You aren't that capable, Malfoy. But I am sure that you know something."

"Yeah? What's that?"

"I don't know, you tell me."

"I'm not telling you anything," Draco glared at her. Valerie only shrugged in response, going back to reading the textbook. Draco narrowed his eyes at the infuriating girl, "Fine."

Valerie grinned triumphantly, closing the book and shifting her chair to turn to him. He told her of a tale from fifty years ago, when the chamber's first opening, which resulted in the death of a muggle-born student.

The young Grindelwald had gone silent after that, guilt coursing through her as she realised her curiosity had led to the retelling of such a tragedy. Eventuallly, it was time to return to their Common Room, being personally escorted by the librarian as they were the last students who remained.

As Valerie laid down that night, the familiar feeling of being engulfed in the comforts of her dormitory bed did nothing to console her chaotic mind. Her ice blue eyes were wide open as she stared at the ceiling, any peace of mind proving impossible as she thought of the day's events. Something terribly odious was happening in Hogwarts, a sinister plot of sorts being pushed into play.