Choosing not to let the situation escalate, Neville spoke up, "What if it was true? What if the chamber was really open? You saw how worried Dumbledore looked. He couldn't even heal Filch. I don't think there's a student that can do something that Dumbledore couldn't reverse. A legendary monster though, could do the trick."
Hermione looked hesitant, "Maybe. But who can it be, though? I have researched most of the founder lines out of curiosity. The line of Slytherin ended with the Gaunts, who all died out over fifty years ago. There's the branch that escaped to America and became the Sayre line and founded their own school there. But a Sayre coming to Hogwarts would be scandalous enough for the news to take notice."
"It's fairly obvious I think." Said Ron in feigned surprise. "Who do we know who wants all the Squibs and Muggle-borns out of Hogwarts?"
The youngest son of Arthur Weasley looked at Neville, seeking his approbation. The Longbottom scion looked back, seemingly unconvinced, "If you're talking about Malfoy..."
"Of course, I am!" Said, Ron. "You heard him: 'You'll be next, Mudbloods!' Come on, you've only got to look at his foul rat face to know it's him..."
Neville shook his head, "Malfoy, the heir of Slytherin? Don't get me wrong, I hate the git, but I don't think he has it in his to do something like this."
"Look at his family," Ron exclaimed vividly, "They've all been in Slytherin for centuries. They could easily be secret descendants of Salazar Slytherin, handing down instructions about the chamber of secrets from father to son, for generations."
"Ron, your entire family was in Gryffindor. So was mine, to be honest. Does that mean that I'm the descendant of Gryffindor," Neville protested.
"Yeah, but while everyone was horrified, Malfoy was very happy with the attack, like he's getting some attention," Ron continued, "And it can even be Potter too. He's certainly sneaky enough to pull off something like this."
That brought Neville short. Harry Potter just didn't come to him for some reason. He didn't even think about his godbrother ever since summer vacation. Potter just stopped showing off in class. He just did the work and kept writing in this new notebook of his all the time. No one knew what he was doing, and when Seamus tried to get a peak, he said it looked like gibberish to him. It even had some protection that stung anyone but its owner from touching it. To be perfectly honest, it was interesting for a week before everyone just gave up. It was probably some sort of study notes, knowing the boy.
There were a few rumours about him fighting Flitwick in the duelling club. Neville didn't really doubt them; he remembered Potter fighting the wraith of what he now knows is Lord Voldemort, as a first year, in the forbidden forest. The boy was just on another level, and Neville could only hope to catch up one day. Yes, Potter had the capability to do this. He has been acting a bit differently this year, a mix of distraction, and pure dismissal of Neville entirely. Before, there was this aura of condescension that he emanated. Now, it was like he didn't even notice that Neville was there. This change of character could mean that he's the heir of Slytherin.
But then, the boy who lived remembered the boy pulling him away from a killing curse and rethought his theory.
He just shook his head, "No, it's not Potter."
Hermione continued, "Yeah, that's not like Harry at all."
"As you would know," Ron argued, "You haven't spoken to him for months. People change."
Seeing another fight coming, Neville spoke up, "All of this is just speculation. It could be anyone in Slytherin, really."
Ron stiffened, "What we need is proof. If only we could pretend to be Slytherins and ask questions."
Neville stiffened, "There is, actually. It's some kind of potion. I heard my grandmother talk about it once. I think it's called Poly something… I don't really remember but it can transform you into another person."
Hermione stiffened, "You mean Polyjuice potion?"
"Yeah, that's it," he exclaimed.
"Neville, that takes over a month to brew. And the ingredients are expensive," the muggleborn protested.
"I can get the ingredients easily enough. And we can afford to wait a month. It would also give us enough time to see if the perpetrator attacks again. Do you think you could brew it?"
Hermione nodded, "I'm not sure. I need the recipe first. It's in a book called Most Potent Potions in the Restricted Section of the library."
Neville nodded, "I'll try to convince Lockhart to give us a permission slip. He seems to like me for some reason."
Ron seemed to grumble at this, "It's because you're a celebrity, mate. You're his ticket up in the world."
"Whatever," Neville said, ignoring Ron's little outburst, "I'll handle the permission slip and the ingredients. Hermione will brew the potion. And Ron, keep a lookout for anything suspicious or any other suspects."
They all agreed and decided to continue their homework and a few hours later, all thoughts of the Chamber of Secrets had disappeared. After all, the match against Slytherin was in a few days and Neville wanted to be ready. He wanted to show Malfoy and the entire world, that it didn't matter how much money he threw at everything. Neville would still be the superior seeker. Oliver Wood and the rest of the Quidditch team were putting their faith in him, and he will not disappoint them. He had trained day and night for this. What could go wrong?
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