52 Suspicions

"I'm going to kill him." Growled Arth with a menacing glare. "I'm going to strangle his neck."

"Who? Gilderoy Lockhart or Dobby?"

"Both."

Arth had just exited Defense against the Dark Arts class with a very grouchy expression.

When he had entered the class, Lockhart gave a obvious flinch.

"My boy Arthur... how are you doing?"

Arth coldly narrowed his eyes.

"Fine. Thanks to you."

"No need to be angry, accidents do happen. The rain interrupted my concentration and you should've never stopped me from healing Harry. I do say the bravery to stand up is quite commendable, however, it is quite idiotic to stop a teacher from helping a friend. In fact, we were lucky that only a couple of bones were removed."

Arth was speechless.

He trembled with wrath as he walked along to his next class. Harry, Ron and Hermione quietly excepted his rant.

"All he had to do was say I'm sorry! That would've made me feel at least somewhat sympathetic."

"... you were going to forgive him?" Asked Harry with an incredulous gaze.

"Of course not! He got rid of all of the bones in my limbs. You know how it feels like to know you have arms but can't control them? It's as if your mind is inside of a doll that can't move. It's horrible."

Arth spat on the ground.

"And do you know what he said instead of a sorry? He said that I shouldn't have gotten in the way! That I ended up causing Harry to feel more pain? More like I saved Harry from getting his arm removed!"

Arth frowned at the people who were avoiding their group.

"And to make it even worse, people are starting to think that Harry is the god dam heir! Just because Harry didn't like the fact that Colin took a picture of him when he had a broken arm! Can you believe these idiots?"

Everyone flinched when they heard these words and started to move along at a faster pace.

"How could Harry be the Heir? He was at the god damn hospital wing? You think he magically mended his bones and petrified someone? Can you people use your brains a bit?"

"Arth... calm down. I'm ok."

"Ok? Your being framed for god's sake! Framed based on a baseless rumor."

Arth groaned.

"People honestly think that you would petrify a cat and a camera boy? Do they think that you are going to be the next dark lord or something?"

Hermione bit her lip.

"I wonder what the monster can be? It must be powerful if it can go around undetected..."

Arth rolled his eyes.

"You think the teachers don't have their suspicions?"

"What do you mean? Are you saying that you have an idea on what the monster is?"

Arth sighed.

"It isn't that hard. Just a bit of reading would provide many answers."

Hermione looked up at Arth and asked with a curious state.

"So what do you reckon the monster is?"

"Well, all we know so far is that it can petrify people and that it's related to slytherin. So I'm guessing that the monster has some relation to a snake. That way, it makes sense that Slytherin's heir can control it. Plus, the basilisk can go decades without food."

Arth glared at the wall.

"The first and obvious suspect is a basilisk."

"Why? Don't basilisks kill with a sight? Shouldn't the cat and Colin be dead instead of petrified?"

"Yes but none of them stared into the eyes of the basilisk directly did they?"

Hermione let out a gasp of understanding while Ron narrowed his eyes in confusion.

"What do you mean by that?"

Before Arth could answer, Hermione beat him to it.

"There was a puddle on the floor on the night when Mrs. Norris was attacked. And she was found looking at the floor! And Colin was found with his camera up to his face! He must've seen it through the camera!"

Ron went pale.

"Are you saying that there is a giant snake with death eyes roaming around the castle?"

Arth rolled his eyes.

"Well, I considered the basilisk but ruled it out."

"Why?"

"Well how would it travel around? It's a giant snake for gods sake. If it goes around slithering through hallways, it wouldn't be undetectable would it? How else would it travel? Through the plumbing pipes? Why would the pipes be big enough to hold a giant snake? It's not possible."

"Couldn't Slytherin have made the pipes large on purpose? To let the basilisk travel easier?"

Arth gave a mocking response.

"I guess the other three founders were blind were they? 'Hey Slytherin, why are you building the pipes large? It's like you are trying to allow big animals to travel in the school sewer system.'"

"... well if you put it that way, it does sound dumb."

"Anyways, Next suspect is a cockatrice, however, it would have even more difficulty traveling through the school than the basilisk so that's also out."

Arth took out a book and tried to calm himself down by reading.

"Next would be a Medusa or Gorgons. Both are related to snakes, both can petrify."

"Snake ladies with killer looks?"

"A little weird way of phrasing it but ok."

Arth flipped to the next page.

"The gorgons have a mostly human appearance, so they would have an easier time getting around but they are conspicuous. Medusa's can shape shift to an extent however they can't survive without food for a long time."

"What's a Gorgon and Medusas?"

"Basically the Greek myth of Medusa you probably heard about except Medusa is basically a stronger Gorgon with more power."

Hermione frowned.

"So what are you saying is the monster?"

"What I'm saying is that we can't know? There are too many animals that can petrify, with eyes, poison, sound, electrical impulses. We can't rule out animals other than snakes to. You never know. And then it could be a creature that we haven't discovered yet. All we know is that direct eye contact probably isn't the best idea, and you should always stay in a group more than two. The monster seems to have a habit of attacking when there is no one around."

Arth closed his book and sighed.

"However, I need to thank Dobby for one thing."

"What?"

"He made it easier in identifying who is the heir."

"Who?"

"Well, Dobby knew that the chamber of secrets were going to open this year, he also knew that Harry was going to be in danger even though he isn't a muggleborn."

Hermione's eyes lit up.

"That means whoever is the heir has something against Harry!"

Arth smiled.

"And who, in the entire school, has a deep found hatred for Harry?"

"...Snape?" Suggested Ron with a blank look.

Harry froze and narrowed his eyes.

"Are you trying to say what you think you are?"

Arth smiled.

"Yes, although I hate to believe that he has the skill to pull it off, our most likely suspect as the heir of Slytherin, is none other than Draco Malfoy."