Dumbledore had planned one of the best Halloween feasts you had ever seen in your 5 years at Hogwarts. You had just finished dinner and were ready to go to bed and sleep it off. Terence skipped down the hall next to you, the rest of your house following closely behind. The chatter from the students was almost deafening. You sighed, tired of the noise.
Suddenly you came to an abrupt halt in the middle of an intersection. You peered across the hall. The Hufflepuff and Gryffindor prefects had stopped as well. Behind you, students shouted their protest, but everyone fell silent when they noticed the writing on the wall. Gaps echoed throughout the corridors as people read the wall.
"The Chamber of Secrets has been opened? Enemies of the heir beware?" Draco shouted as he pushed to the front of the crowd. What the hell was going on? Was this a prank? No. It couldn't be. Could it? "You'll be next Mudbloods!" Malfoy spat.
Right below the dripping writing was a cat. Mrs. Norris. But she wasn't moving. Instead she was hanging from a torch holder. You immediately reached for Terence's hand without thinking. Was she dead? Your Slytherin friend mirrored your own petrified look as he slung his arm over you shoulder.
You glanced across the intersection. Cedric was burning holes into Terence with his eyes. Terence, thankfully, hadn't seemed to notice. Beneath the anger, you saw a look of hurt as your boyfriend eyed you hand which was intertwined with your friend's. Your fingers immediately sprung apart and you shrugged out from underneath Terence's arm. Cedric exhaled but avoided looking at you. You'd have to talk to him about that later. He knew you would never leave him. Especially not by cheating on him.
The crowd's murmurs grew louder as the message began to sink in. All around you people grabbed for one another. Students were desperate for comfort. Out of the corner of your eye you watched as a girl on either side clutch your boyfriend's arm in fear. You scowled but ignored the jealously raging inside of you. Now wasn't the time.
Terence made another grab for your hand as he bent down to whisper in your ear. You could almost hear Cedric's anger boiling. Serves him right. He's the one with 2 girls hanging from either side of him, You thought, bitterly. Jealousy at its finest.
"(Y/N), take a closer look at the writing. That's not paint. It's too runny to be paint. Look at how it's dripping. I'm not sure but I think it's written-"
"It's written in blood!" You exclaimed, cutting Terence off. You had said it just loud enough for the corridor to fall silent again. The 2 Hufflepuff girls held onto Cedric tighter. You rolled your eyes, looking away as you did.
Teachers and staff members began to push their way to the front of the crowds. Mr. Filch stepped forward. What he saw almost killed him. He pressed closer, his eyes watering, as he caught sight of Mrs. Norris. You held your breath.
"Mrs. Norris? No! Not my cat! You! You murdered my cat! You've killed her!" Mr. Filch shouted, pointing a bony finger at Harry, who you had just noticed standing below the wall. There were gasps and whispers. Some people even snickered. Probably the Slytherins.
"Argus! What's going on..." Dumbledore trailed off as he neared the front of the crowd. His blue eyes shifted to wall, then to Mrs. Norris, nervously. Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape appeared behind him, looking just as worried.
Dumbledore looked at all the students, fear lines etched into all of their faces. His twinkling eyes landed on all of the house prefects. You and Terence included. "Attention! I want everyone to follow their Prefects back to the dormitories this instant. Everyone except...you 3!" Dumbledore bellowed as he pointed to Hermione, Ronald, and Harry. The golden trio.
All the Slytherins looked to you and Terence for further instruction. You shot one last disapproving glare at Cedric, who's arms were still latched in between the girls' embraces. You sighed and motioned for your house to follow you back to the dungeons.
"What was that all about, (Y/N/N)? Glaring at the Hufflepuffs I mean," Terence asked, curiously as you started toward the dormitories. You waved you hand nonchalantly, as if to dismiss the question.
"When don't we glare at the Hufflepuffs, Terence? We glare at every other house. That's what we do. We're Slytherins," you replied, hoping that was a good enough excuse. Apparently it wasn't because Terrence pressed on. You sighed.
"Yeah. I know. But you seemed especially mad. Did one of them do something to you? Do I need to get the gang and go knock some heads together?" You rolled your eyes, but laughed, despite yourself. Maybe you could knock some sense into my boyfriend who obviously doesn't know how to protect his own personal space from other girls.
"No. I don't know why I felt so mad. I guess I was just irritated by how pathetic they looked. Clinging to each other like that." That was sort of true. Right?
"You've got that right! But you were holding my hand," he pointed out. You scoffed and rolled your eyes again.
"And I hated every second of it," you teased as Terence's face twisted into a look of mock hurt. You nudged him in the ribs and he smiled. You grinned back, but it was strained. You couldn't wait until you could slap some sense into Pretty-Boy-Diggory.