Hermione nodded fervently, but Harry didn’t say anything. His stomach had just dropped unpleasantly.
Harry had never told Ron and Hermione that the Sorting Hat had seriously considered putting him in Slytherin. He could remember, as though it were yesterday, the small voice that had spoken in his ear when he’d placed the hat on his head a year before: You could be great, you know, it’s all here in your head, and Slytherin would help you on the way to greatness, no doubt about that…
But Harry, who had already heard of Slytherin House’s reputa
tion for turning out Dark wizards, had thought desperately, Not Slytherin! and the hat had said, Oh, well, if you’re sure … better be Gryffindor…
As they were shunted along in the throng, Colin Creevy went past.
“Hiya, Harry!”
“Hullo, Colin,” said Harry automatically.
“Harry. Harry. a boy in my class has been saying you’re
But Colin was so small he couldn~t fight against the tide of people bearing him toward the Great Hall; they heard him squeak, “See you, Harry!” and he was gone.
“What’s a boy in his class saying about you?” Hermione wondered.
“That I’m Slytherin’s heir, I expect,” said Harry, his stomach dropping another inch or so as he suddenly remembered the way Justin Finch- Fletchley had run away from him at lunchtime.
“People here’ll believe anything,” said Ron in disgust.
The crowd thinned and they were able to climb the next staircase without difficulty.
“D’you really think there’s a Chamber of Secrets?” Ron asked Hermione.
“I don’t know,” she said, frowning.” Dumbledore couldn’t cure Mrs. Norris, and that makes me think that whatever attacked her might not be. well. human.”
As she spoke, they turned a corner and found themselves at the end of the very corridor where the attack had happened. They stopped and looked. The scene was just as it had been that night, except that there was no stiff cat hanging from the torch bracket, and an empty chair stood against the wall bearing the message “The Chamber of Secrets has been Opened.”
“That’s where Filch has been keeping guard,” Ron muttered.
They looked at each other. The corridor was deserted.
“Can’t hurt to have a poke around,” said Harry, dropping his bag and getting to his hands and knees so that he could crawl along, searching for clues.
“Scorch marks!” he said.” Here. and here.”
“Come and look at this!” said Hermione.” This is funny . . . .”
Harry got up and crossed to the window next to the message on the wall. Hermione was pointing at the topmost pane, where around twenty spiders were scuttling, apparently fighting to get through a small crack. A long, silvery thread was dangling like a rope, as though they had all climbed it in their hurry to get outside.
“Have you ever seen spiders act like that?” said Hermione wonderingly.
“No,” said Harry, “have you, Ron? Ron?”
He looked over his shoulder. Ron was standing well back and seemed to be fighting the impulse to run.
“What’s up?” said Harry.
“I. don’t. like. spiders,” said Ron tensely.
“I never knew that,” said Hermione, looking at Ron in surprise.” You’ve used spiders in Potions loads of times ……
“I don’t mind them dead,” said Ron, who was carefully looking anywhere but at the window.” I just don’t like the way they move ….
Hermione giggled.
“It’s not funny,” said Ron, fiercely.” If you must know, when I was three, Fred turned my. my teddy bear into a great big fiIthy spider because I broke his toy broomstick …. You wouldn’t like them either if you’d been holding your bear and suddenly it had too many legs and. . .”
He broke off, shuddering. Hermione was obviously still trying not to laugh. Feeling they had better get off the subject, Harry said, “Remember all that water on the floor? Where did that come from? Someone’s mopped it up.”
“It was about here,” said Ron, recovering himself to walk a few paces past Filch’s chair and pointing.” Level with this door.”
He reached for the brass doorknob but suddenly withdrew his hand as though he’d been burned.
“What’s the matter?” said Harry.