The Family Name

The Family Name

By Slytherin Tattoo

Chapter 6

The gabble of voices died suddenly as the people in front spotted the hanging cat. The four of them stood alone in the middle of the corridor, Artemis a little apart from the other three. Silence fell among the mass of students pressing forward to see the grisly sight.

Draco had pushed his way to the front of the crowd. He smiled at them. "Enemies of the Heir, beware!" His gaze focused on Hermione. "You'll be next, Mudbloods."

Artemis rushed forward to stand next to Draco. "Quiet, Malfoy, listen..."

Draco looked at him, standing only inches away, seeming very serious. But he never found out what Artemis was going to say, as Filch had made his way through the press of students to check on the disturbance.

"My cat!" he shrieked. "What's happened to Mrs. Norris?"

His popping eyes fell on Potter. "You! You've murdered my cat! I'll kill you!"

"Argus!" Dumbledore was there now, with a number of teachers. He removed the cat, and ordered Filch and the Trio to accompany them.

"He was there, too," said a voice. Colin Creevy, pointing at Artemis.

"You, too, then."

They went to Lockhart's office. McGonagall and Snape came behind them. While Dumbledore and McGonagall examined Mrs. Norris, Filch cried, Lockhart made unhelpful comments, and Snape went to stand by Artemis.

"What happened, Fowl?" he asked in a low voice.

"Malfoy was getting on my nerves, so I ducked out of the feast a couple minutes early. I came upon that--scene--and them." He nodded towards Potter and crew, huddled close by. "They were looking at it."

Snape's piercing gaze turned on Potter.

"She's not dead, Argus," Dumbledore said, turning around. "She's been Petrified. I'm not sure how..."

"Ask him!" Filch stared at Harry, as well.

"No Second Year could have done this. It would take Dark Magic of the most advanced..."

"He did it!" Filch insisted. "You saw what he wrote on the wall. And he knows I'm a Squib!"

"I never touched Mrs. Norris," Harry protested at once. "I don't even know what a Squib is!"

"Non-magic user born to a magic family," Artemis supplied, thinking, 'Well, well, Filch is a Squib. That's handy to know.'

Snape broke in. "Well, Fowl is clearly innocent here. He'd just arrived on the scene. True, Miss Granger?"

She blinked. "Yes... we were there first, he just walked up and read the wall, that's all."

"As for Potter and his friends," Snape continued, "they may have only been in the wrong place at the wrong time. But it does look suspicious..."

The three launched into an explanation. "We were at Sir Nicholas' Deathday party! Ask the ghosts!"

"Why didn't you join the feast afterward? Why go up that corridor?"

"We were tired and wanted to go to bed," Harry said.

Snape smiled maliciously. "Without supper?"

"We weren't hungry," Ron declared, but his rumbling stomach gave the lie to that.

"I see no evidence Potter did anything wrong!" McGonagall snapped, eyes flashing at Snape.

"They looked pretty surprised when I found them," Artemis spoke up suddenly. "I don't think they did anything."

Snape's eyes narrowed and he turned to look at Artemis.

"Innocent until proven guilty, Severus," Dumbledore proclaimed, but he was staring at Harry.

Snape scowled further. Filch shrieked, "But my cat! I want to see some punishment!"

"We can cure her," Dumbledore said gently. "As soon as Sprout's Mandrakes are at full size, I'll have a potion made."

"I can do it!" Lockhart interrupted.

"Excuse me." Snape turned his deadly glare on Gilderoy, who cringed. "I believe I am the Potions Master at this school."

Artemis smirked. "You tell him."

Filch looked over at him for the first time. "But--he's Slytherin. He could be the Heir!"

Dumbledore looked at Fowl, who met his eyes blandly. "Heir of what?"

"Don't go wandering around corridors alone, Mr. Fowl," McGonagall said then. She looked worried.

Dumbledore sighed. "The others confirmed his innocence." He glanced at the four of them. "You all may go."

The Gryffindors fled. Artemis left with a backwards look at Snape, who met his eyes. But Artemis was unable to read them.

He sped up in pursuit of the others, and followed them silently in the shadows, eavesdropping.

Potter spoke to the other two, sounding concerned. "Do you think I should have told them about that voice I heard?"

'Ah,' thought Artemis. 'Intrigue.'

"No," Ron assured him without hesitation. "Hearing voices no one else can hear isn't a good sign, even in the wizarding world."

"I know it sounds weird. And that writing on the wall--the Chamber has been opened--what's that mean?"

"Hush," Hermione interrupted. "We're being followed."

'All right then.' Artemis hurried his steps, coming out of the shadows, sounding breathless. "There you guys are. I've been trying to catch up to you."

"Oh, Fowl--it's you."

"Yes. Me. Good thing I had you to testify for me. What with my police record and all." Artemis threw at Granger, making her recall her remarks about him from when they first met.

She looked a bit embarrassed. "Um. That was just what I'd heard. Pretend I never said it. It was good of you to stand up for us."

He nodded at her, then gazed at the other two. Weasley he didn't think much of. Granger he respected for her intelligence. Potter--actually, Potter seemed ordinary enough. Apparently he could rise to the occasion when it meant life or death. Artemis honestly thought that if people would just stop trying to kill him, he wouldn't amount to that much. He'd expected to despise him, but found he didn't. Maybe if he were around him as much as he was Malfoy, it would be different.

This business about hearing voices, though, he needed to find out more about. He knew they wouldn't tell him anything without a bit of subterfuge--apology or not, he was still an "untrustworthy Slytherin." Fortunately, he thought he knew a way to lead them on while he picked them for information.

"So, listen--do you know any more than what you told the adults? Did you notice anything else, before I got there?" They all shook their heads no. "You didn't hear the voice then?"

That got their full attention. Their looks changed to suspicion once more. "What did it sound like?" Potter asked.

Artemis had no idea, but he knew how to guess well. "Like a whisper. Only threatening."

"Yes!" Potter exclaimed before Weasley could nudge him to be quiet. "See!" He rounded on the other two triumphantly. "I wasn't making it up. I'm not crazy. I told you it was going to kill someone."

Granger frowned. "What did it say exactly?"

"Rip, tear, kill. I'm hungry, kill," Potter replied.

"Why can you two hear this voice and no one else can?"

Artemis shrugged. Potter looked helpless.

"Do you know anything about this Chamber of Secrets?" Weasley demanded of Artemis. "Or why Filch thought you might be the Heir?"

"No idea. Except that I'm Slytherin." He paused. "Malfoy seemed to know something."

"Do you two honestly loathe each other?" Potter asked.

Artemis half-smiled. "Oh, yes."

The Gryffindors exchanged glances. "I'll research the Chamber," Granger said at last. "You see what Malfoy knows. We'll owl you when we know something."

"... all right."

____________ __________

Artemis went looking for information. Like Granger, he'd gone searching through books. He'd looked up clues on the Internet. And he'd asked Pucey and Flint. Pucey had been baffled by it all, but Flint looked shifty. "I've heard rumors," he replied softly, looking around the Common Room to see who was listening. "Salazar Slytherin, who as you know started this school, was betrayed by the other Founders, who invited Muggles and Mudbloods to be students. Finally he left. But before he did, he put a seal on a certain chamber he'd had built in the castle, that the others didn't know about. He sealed it so it could only be opened by his Heir. And inside it, he put some sort of monster--nobody knows what. And when his Heir returns, when the time is right, he'll let the monster loose, to kill all the traitors, until only purebloods are left."

"Who is the Heir?"

At that, Flint looked frustrated. "Nobody knows. I wish I did!"

"Aren't there any stories, descriptions, anything?"

Flint shook his head.

Which took Artemis back to the books and the Web, looking for any records of Slytherin's descendants... only there seemed to be none.

Malfoy had been avoiding him. Artemis squared his shoulders. He'd wait until tonight, then confront him.

___________ __________

Draco was the last to bed, as usual. He heard Crabbe and Goyle snoring nearby. He sighed and lay down. He'd barely closed his eyes when his curtains were pulled back and he was staring up at Artemis Fowl.

Draco scowled. "What do you want?"

Artemis sat down at the foot of the bed and pulled the curtains shut around them.

Draco sat up, heart thumping. What was Fowl up to?

"So, this whole 'Enemies of the Heir, Beware,' thing," Artemis began without preamble. "You seem to know something about it."

Draco blinked. Not what he was expecting. "Just... stuff I've heard. From my dad."

"Stuff like?" Artemis prompted.

Draco shrugged. "There's a secret chamber at Hogwarts. It's been opened before. Last time, a Mudblood died. But nobody knows how she was killed, or what sort of monster supposedly inhabits it. I don't know who opened the chamber --just that he was expelled, but never imprisoned. It was closed again, I guess, because there was only the one death, and then everything got quiet again."

"When--when was this?"

"Oh, about 50 years ago."

"And you're OK with that?" Fowl hissed. It was hard to see his face. His eyes seemed all black, but burning, somehow even through the dark. "This person's parents weren't magical, so let some beast kill them, no problem?"

Draco shifted a bit. "Father says..."

"Malfoy! What do you say? Can't you think for yourself?"

Draco went rigid. "Of course I can. And yes, I'm fine with it. If I knew who the Heir was now, I'd help him. I'd suggest he start with you."

Artemis took a deep breath and calmed down, as if a door had shut, closing off his expression and wiping the tension from his body. "You don't know who the Heir is, then?"

Draco cursed to himself. He hadn't meant to tell Fowl so much. But it was too late now. "No."

"You know all these pureblood families. Any guesses?"

"No." He started fiddling with the blankets.

"You're sure it's not you?" Artemis asked, sounding rather suspicious.

Draco sighed again. "I was at the Feast the whole time, remember? You're the one who left early--the new boy who's just a little too confident about everything. Maybe it's you!"

"Malfoy, you know that I'm not pureblood."

"Don't I, though! You should really be a Ravenclaw."

Artemis grinned suddenly. "Did you ever get all the flobberworms out of your robes?" Then he was through the bed curtains and gone.

For a moment, Draco just sat there staring at the spot where he'd been. "All right," he muttered, "anybody who can play a trick so devious belongs in Slytherin, I admit it."

He ran a hand through his hair, then lay down. So Fowl wanted to know about the Chamber and the Heir. So he thought Draco was wrong about the Mudbloods. So he thought he couldn't think for himself. So what?

But he kept thinking about it. It was true that over the years he'd come to just parrot what his father said. It was easier than getting beaten for believing the wrong thing. Over time, he'd come to pretend that wasn't the reason, that he must really believe what he said, that he wasn't some helpless weakling stuck in a life of lies and pain, doomed to bitterness because he couldn't get out. No, he liked it where he was.

And if sometimes, the real feelings pushed through, and he felt so frustrated and resentful and fearful that it all turned to anger and he had to lash out...

'You don't have to.'

'Shut up, shut up, yes I do, because I'm angry!'

He was angry. He was furious.

'Trust Fowl to bring up something so stupid, to make me feel like this. He was just trying to get to me; it's a plot. I'll get him for this.'

He turned onto his side, still seething. But how to get revenge? Fowl didn't react to anything anymore. Nothing made him mad. He turned onto his other side. This would require some thought.

__________ __________

Just before breakfast, Artemis sent an owl to Hermione Granger telling her to meet him so he could let her know what he'd discovered. She was waiting, along with the other two, outside the Great Hall. He motioned down the side passage with his chin, and slipped away from his friends and met them there two minutes later.

"Can't be seen speaking with us?" Weasley asked, eyebrows raised.

"Let's just say I'd prefer Malfoy not know."

Granger made her report. They had investigated the crime scene, and found spiders, water, and scorch marks.

Then Artemis made his. They were left in shock.

"Died? There really is something running around about to murder people?" Ron looked pale.

"I told you that," Potter pointed out. "The voice."

"Have you heard it anymore?" Fowl asked. "I haven't."

"No, not since... since the last time."

"Well, keep me informed, OK? Look--I know you don't know me, and I'm a Slytherin and all, but you can trust me." Artemis smiled at them.

They smiled back, hesitantly. Ah, they were so easy to win over.

"See you around then. Weasley--say hi to your sister for me."

__________ ___________